Piegaro Glass Museum

In the heart of the ancient village of Piegaro, at the base of an imposing brick chimney, stands the complex of the ancient glass factory, home to the Glass Museum. The building, a striking example of industrial archeology, tells the centennial history of glass production in Piegaro, from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century.

The Glass Museum is the most important testimony of an ancient tradition of glass processing, which has characterized Piegaro and its economy since the 13th century. The building that currently houses the exhibition is the last seat, within the town walls, of the glass factory which was decommissioned in 1968, moving production to a new plant in the valley of the town, which still exists today.

The Museum, inaugurated on April 18, 2009, preserves the ancient appearance of the glass factory and houses many types of artifacts that came from the kilns of the area, which are only part of the production of the factory over the last two centuries. These objects were made with various types of processing. The oldest and most widespread, practiced in the Piegaro plants, up to the 1950s, is blowing, which could be free or in molds. In the 50s of the twentieth, semi-automatic machines were introduced (of which the museum preserves some examples) in which the artifacts were printed inside metal shapes using compressed air.

Among the oldest and most valuable pieces there are some pieces that belonged to the table service of the Misciattelli family (19th century). These are glasses, bottles, jugs and other containers, mostly in transparent glass with engraved and painted decoration. There are numerous containers for wine, in particular flasks and demijohns, produced both by blowing and by semi-automatic machines. The production technique generally constitutes the only, rather vague, dating element, since these artifacts, especially those blown and those prior to the 1950s, are devoid of inscriptions or any other peculiar characteristics. The exceptions are blown demijohns which often show a particular decoration or inscription on a raised ring, added by hand, specifying the place of production. The use of the mold made it possible to affix indications, as well as the place of production, characteristics of the object and content and in some cases, decorative motifs. Among the blown flasks there are those with an internal compartment, with a separate mouth, in which the ice was placed, to cool the contents. Particularly interesting are the flasks produced in the years 1950 and 1975 to celebrate the Jubilee, decorated in relief, with images of Rome (St. Peter's Square and the Colosseum). Starting with the introduction of the mold machine, different types of flasks were introduced: the main one manufactured in Piegaro was the Pulcianella (or Puccianella) with a spherical body. In many cases, the printed objects carried the initials VCP, which from the 1960s marked the productions of the Piegarese Cooperative Glassworks.

The fiasco, which for centuries constituted the main production of the Piegaresi glassworks, required a further production step to be carried out outside the straw-making factory. This occupation, which was carried out mostly by women helped by children and the elderly, was for a long time an important source of income for the families of the area.

The Piegaro glassworks produced containers for storing wine, oil and objects of medium use, such as containers for medicines and utensils for the care of the sick. Within the museum itinerary, there are some curiosities such as the float for fishing nets, the soda bottle containing a glass marble that served as a closure for some of the workers' pay books kept in the day room. Archival documents dating back to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are also preserved, concerning the heritage and activity of the factory in the last two centuries of history.

Map: Piegaro Glass Museum

vCard Info:

Address: Via Garibaldi, 20, 06066
Piegaro (PG) Umbria
Latitude: 42.9702957
Longitude: 12.0867795
Site: http://www.museodelvetropiegar...

vCard created by: CHO.earth
Currently owned by: CHO.earth

Type: Building
Function: Museum
Creation date: 21-03-2020 15:15
Last update: 17/02/2021