How Italian Glassware Brands Preserve Handmade Traditions

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Introduction

When we think of glassware, we tend to imagine luxury and beauty rather than plain functional tableware. Nothing signifies this more than handcrafted Italian glassware. In Italy, glassmaking has been a significant industry since Medieval times. Since then, it has continued to thrive, particularly in Murano, near Venice, and Murano Glass is famous worldwide. Handmade traditions have been preserved throughout the centuries, sometimes with modern twists added. Here, we will take a look at some of the most famous Italian glassware brands and learn how they keep these traditions going.

Barbini

History of the Barbini Family

The Barbini family has a rich history of glassmaking dating to the 16th century. Considered nobility, they were registered in the Golden Book of the Magnificent Community of Murano in 1658. They were particularly known for handcrafting glass chandeliers and mirrors. By the 18th century, they were considered to be the best mirror makers in Europe. 

Although glassmakers weren’t allowed to leave Murano, several were secretly taken to the court of Louis XIV of France in 1665 to produce Venetian mirrors. One of these glassmakers was Gerolamo Barbini. Together, they created the famous Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, there was a decline in glass production on the island of Murano. Glass masters defected to the royal courts of Europe, attracted by large sums of money. The Fall of the Venetian Republic and Industrialization contributed to this decline. However, some glass masters, including the Barbini family, continued to create handmade Italian glass on the island of Murano, keeping their secrets to themselves and passing them down from generation to generation. 

Handmade glass became popular again in the late 19th century, and in the early 1900s, the Barbini family relaunched their handmade Venetian mirrors, which had been put to one side. 

Alfredo Barbini

Alfredo Barbini was a prominent member of the Barbini family who kept handmade traditions alive. He was born in 1912 in Murano and started his glassmaking career when he was just thirteen years old. He worked in several workshops, including S.A.I.A.R Ferro Toso and Cristalleria di Venezia. After the Second World War, he worked with famous glass designers, Archimede Seguso and Napoleone Martinuzzi. He opened his own glass company in 1950 with financial assistance from Salviati & C. In return, Alfredo created glass pieces for Salviati. 

Alfredo Barbini kept alive the Vetro Sommerso technique, which had been developed in the 1930s by Carlo Sarpa at Venini & C. and involved creating layers of different colors. Alfredo’s Vetro Sommerso clowns are still sought after by collectors.

The Barbini Family Today

The Barbini family still creates beautiful handcrafted mirrors. They also specialize in engraving, creating intricate designs and patterns on glass. In addition, they will restore historical mirrors.

Barovier & Toso

History of Barovier

Barovier is one of the oldest companies in the world that is still in existence. It dates to 1295 when Jacobello Barovier became the first member of the family to work with glass. 

One of the most famous members of the family was Angelo Barovier. He is best known for creating Crystal glass, also known as Venetian Crystal, in the 1400s. It was made with quartz pebbles instead of sand, which gave a pure and transparent glass. It was also made without the use of lead or arsenic,  unlike Crystal glass produced in other countries. The Republic of Venice granted Angelo the exclusive right to produce this glass, and it is still made today.  

Angelo was also credited with inventing a ‘milk glass’ as well as resurrecting the technique of Chalcedony, prized by the nobility for its similarity to semi-precious stones. It was first used in Egypt during Ancient Roman times and rediscovered by Angelo Barovier. It is created by mixing colored and white glass with mineral oxides to produce spectacular color effects and intricate designs

History of Ferro Toso

Francesco Ferro established the company, Francesco Ferro e Figlio, in 1880. After he died in 1901, his son Ferdinando partnered with Luigi and Giovanni Toso and formed Ferro Toso & C. They moved to Naples during World War I, but returned to Murano in 1918 and renamed the company S.A.I.A.R. Ferro Toso & C.

One of their most notable successes was the recreation of Murrine vases, originally made in the 1st century BC by the Syrians and Egyptians. To create this type of glass, colored glass rods are fused and pulled into long canes. The canes are then sliced into small sections with patterns and are arranged on the surface of molten glass. They are then heated and blown into the desired shapes, incorporating the sections into the main body.  

In addition, Ferro Toso redeveloped Lattimo glass, also called milk glass, which had first been created in the 14th century. This glass is milky-white and looks like porcelain. The opaqueness is created by adding lead and tin oxides to the molten glass, as well as other agents such as calcium fluoride or sodium fluoride. 

Ferro Toso embraced traditional techniques while welcoming new ideas. As such, they made a considerable contribution to glassmaking.

Merger of Barovier and Toso

Barovier and Toso joined forces in 1936, although it wasn’t officially named Barovier & Toso until 1942. 

Ercole Barovier had been artistic director of Barovier from 1920 and continued in this role at Barovier & Toso until the early 1970s. In 1940, he created the Lenti vase series made of cased glass, which had first been invented in the 1st century BC. These feature a dual-layered design, with the outer layer being clear and the inner, colored. This gives the illusion that there are gold leaves in the glass.

Barovier & Toso Today

Barovier & Toso continue to produce handcrafted Italian glassware, including chandeliers, vases, and decorative pieces. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, mouth-blown crystal or glass, many made using techniques that are centuries old.

Venini & C.

History of Venini & C. 

The story of Venini began in 1921 when glass designers, Paolo Venini and Giacomo Cappellin, founded Vetri Soffiati Cappellin & C., intending to revitalize traditional handcrafted Italian glass. However, Cappellin withdrew from the company in 1925 and opened a competing firm, taking most of Venini’s master glass blowers with him. This didn’t deter Paolo, who hired new glassblowers and created Vetro Soffiati Murano Venini & C,. which eventually became Venini & C.

Collaboration with Designers

Paolo entrusted the creative side of the company to Murano sculptor, Napoleone Martinuzzi,  although Venini played a part in designing some of the company’s better-known products, such as the Fazzoletto (or handkerchief) series, which he created with designer, Fulvio Biaconi. These vases resemble fluttering handkerchiefs and are characterized by delicate curves. They were created in solid colors, but in 1987.

The Fazoletto Opalino was introduced, which was a layered design made with Lattimo glass. The practice of collaborating with noteworthy designers continues to this day.

Over the years, Venini has used many traditional techniques, which they have refined, such as Filigree and Incalmo. They have also used Aureliao Roso, which was first used in 3rd-century Mesopotamia. It is a mixture of opaque and transparent glass, which creates a milky effect, similar to clouds. Other techniques often used are the Incised Surface, in which patterns are cut into the surface of the glass, and the Corroded Surface, where the glass is ground to give a unique effect.

Venini Today

Paolo Venini died in  1959, and the company was then run by other members of the family for 20 years before it was sold. Damiani S.p.A. currently owns it and is still producing artistic handmade Italian glass.

Nason & Moretti

Early History of the Company

Nason & Moretti was formed in 1925 by Vincenzo Nason and his cousins, Ugo and Francesco Moretti. From the start, the company blended traditional techniques with modern design. 

In 1949, Nason acquired Moretti’s share of the company. 

Types of Glassware Produced

The company originally produced elegant lamps but then expanded to include handcrafted tableware.  The tableware is elegant and refined, and the attention to detail sets it apart from factory-produced glass.

Carlo Nason, son of Vincenzo, started creating glass lighting in 1959 and collaborated with the Murano glass manufacturer, A.V. Mazzega, to create stunning designs. These have clean, geometric forms and remain in demand today. Nasson’s work is a combination of traditional techniques and innovation. His creations can be viewed at the Corning Museum of Glass and the Museum of Modern Art, both in New York.

Final Thoughts

Despite the amount of mass-produced glass being produced today, handcrafted Italian glassware is still being created. The master glassmakers have kept old traditions alive, passing them down from generation to generation. As a result, Italian glass is still highly sought after. 

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