Glass Museum in Empoli
The city’s great glassmaking tradition on display
The Glass Museum in Empoli is located in the former Salt Warehouse and documents the history of the city’s glassmaking industry, which dates to the 15th century, and its impact on Empoli’s economic, urban and social fabric.
Videos, reconstructions and historical documentation take visitors by the hand and explain how master glassmakers work.
Glass items such as “fiaschi” (flasks), demijohns, recipients and table utensils are on display in the museum, displaying the traditional green color due to the iron oxide in the sand.
These household items are the protagonists of the museum: objects found in local homes, kitchens and wineries that illustrate daily life and customs, which led to the development of local, national and international wine and olive oil trade. Centered on an exceptional craft, the museum tells the story of an industry that has known how to move with the times through creativity and competencies.
Glass art and colored glass is also on show in the museum, as well as the transparent, engraved and decorated varieties, which have typified Empoli’s industry since the mid 1950s.
Accessibility information: regione.toscana.it
