museodelvetro.it

In depth

Glass itineraries

Five themed journeys to discover the art of Italian glass: the stops are ordered geographically, and each museum links to its page with map, opening hours and contacts.

Veneto · 2 days · vaporetto

Venice and the lagoon of glass

The world's glassmaking heart in a weekend: seven hundred years of Murano history, twentieth-century design and the Roman glass of the northern lagoon.

  1. Murano Glass Museum — Palazzo Giustinian and the island's furnaces: the most important collection of Murano glass in existence.
  2. Le Stanze del Vetro — on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, the exhibitions devoted to 20th- and 21st-century glass art.
  3. National Archaeological Museum of Altino — on the mainland, the murrine glass of ancient Altinum, mother of Venice.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto · 3 days · by car

Roman glass in the North-East

From Trieste to the Po delta, Italy's most extraordinary concentration of ancient glass: the workshops of Aquileia and the grave goods of the Roman cities of the Tenth Region.

  1. «J.J. Winckelmann» Museum of Antiquities, Trieste — every technique of ancient glass, free of charge on San Giusto hill.
  2. National Archaeological Museum of Aquileia — one of the world's greatest collections of Roman glass, from cameo to gold-band.
  3. Concordia National Museum, Portogruaro — the glass of the colony of Iulia Concordia and the bowl of "Daniel among the lions".
  4. Atestino National Museum, Este — the glass grave goods of ancient Ateste.
  5. National Archaeological Museum of Adria — the grand finale with the cups signed by the master Ennion.

Tuscany · 2 days · by car

The Tuscany of glass and crystal

From Empoli's green glass to the crystal of Colle di Val d'Elsa, by way of the medieval furnaces of the Valdelsa: an itinerary among villages, workshops and hills.

  1. Empoli Glass Museum (MUVE) — the green glass of flasks and demijohns, in the fourteenth-century Salt Warehouse.
  2. Gambassi Terme Glass Museum — three thousand finds from the pre-industrial furnaces of the Valdelsa.
  3. Crystal Museum, Colle di Val d'Elsa — Italy's crystal capital, in the old Boschi glassworks.
  4. Historical Museum of Glass and Bottles, Montalcino — glass and bottles from Roman times, in a castle among the vineyards.

Liguria and Piedmont · 2-3 days · by car

The other capital: from Altare to the Alps

The great glassmaking tradition of the North-West: the Altarese masters who conquered Europe, the Roman glass of the coast and the Savoyard manufactories.

  1. Magical Transparencies, Albenga — the Roman glass of Albingaunum and the cobalt-blue plate.
  2. Altare Glass Art Museum — in the Art Nouveau Villa Rosa, the story of the masters of the façon d'Altare.
  3. «Cav. G. Avena» Museum Complex, Chiusa di Pesio — the Royal Glass and Crystal Works of the Savoyard states.
  4. Palazzo Madama, Turin — the d'Azeglio collection, Italy's richest holding of painted glass.

Campania · 1 day · on foot and by funicular

Naples, from the Blue Vase to the Floridiana

A Neapolitan day between the masterpieces of Roman glass and the refinements of the Bourbon collections, from the old town centre to the Vomero hill.

  1. National Archaeological Museum of Naples — the glass of Pompeii and Herculaneum and the Blue Vase, masterpiece of cameo glass.
  2. Duca di Martina Museum, Villa Floridiana — Venetian, Bohemian and painted glass from the 15th to the 18th century, in a park above the bay.

Single stops worth the trip

Not every glass destination fits in a line: in Milan, the Museum of Decorative Arts at the Sforza Castle combines historic stained glass with twentieth-century designer glass; in Umbria, the Piegaro Museum preserves an entire furnace with the last glass still inside; and in the Dolomites, the old Carisolo glassworks tells the story of high-altitude Bohemian crystal.

See all the museums on the map →