The brand “Vetro artistico® Murano”, registered and deposited by Eoropean Union Office for Intellectual Property of Alicante at n. 000481812, has been established and disciplinatad by Regional Law n. 70 of 1994.
Only the dealer enterprises are authorized from Veneto Region, after careful and accurate check, to put the mark representing the brand on own prductions goods.
Consorzio Promovetro, that has for purpose the development and promotion of glass muran activity, has been appointed to protect (with Regione Veneto) and promote the use of collective brand “Vetro artistico di Murano”.
The Chamber of Commerce of Venece and Rovigo Delta Lagunare is partner in the regional project for
New Brand of Traceability Vetro Aartistico® Murano (linked video)
Watch the Guide for th Brand and requisits of authenticity of Murano Glass
For further details on ventures of safeguars and promotion on Murano Glass:
http://www.muranoglass.com/en/
MURANO GLASS IN THE PAST
The production of Venetian glass in Murano is an age-old tradition: for centuries, thanks to the creativity and handicraft of generations of master glassmakers, Murano has been the world’s cradle of artistic glass and nowadays Venetian glass processing is one of the most refined forms of artistic handicrafts in the world, deeply attached to its roots and historical traditions.
The importance given to glass production in the past is testified by the fact that the Glass Masters of Murano were granted an aristocratic title and the inclusion in the Golden Book of Venetian Patrician Families. In the past, production was limited to everyday objects and little else; in addition, they also produced the mosaic tiles exported to the Exarchate of Ravenna.
In the 1400s this kind of production was accompanied by luxury goods, under the influence of Renaissance culture, which made the glass art acquire a humanistic mindset bringing it far beyond the idea of a mere craft.
Clear glass, whose Roman technique was taken up by Barovier, began to appear in trays, cups, glasses, plates, goblets and “cesendelli”, cylindrical oil lamps.
In those years of magnificence and artistic power, the Venetian Glass Art was given a new statute, the “Mariegole della Arte dei Verieri de Muran”, setting a strict discipline on glass production, with a proper organism supervising it.
Some researchers believe that the mirror was invented in Murano between the XVth and XVIth centuries, and it widely spread in the 1700s.
The Republic of Venice acknowledged actual patents to the glassworkers that introduced new techniques and the authorities were vigilant against the export of such technologies; moreover, only workers having the citizenship of the island of Murano were given the possibility to work as masters and apprentices.
Nevertheless, glass art spread throughout Europe, especially in France, England and Bohemia.
Competition put a strain on the sector, which began to recover only in 1861 with the establishment of the “Glass Museum” and the “Drawing School for Glassworkers”, nowadays reborn under the name of
“Scuola del Vetro Abate Zanetti” (www.abatezanetti.it).
The “Scuola del Vetro Abate Zanetti” in Murano, the heir of an ancient glass institution, the “Drawing School for Glassworkers” founded in 1862 by the abbot Vincenzo Zanetti, is now more than ever the meeting place between the past and the future of glass art.
The School has two goals. The first one is to train; it comes from its origins and is put into practice through the creation, the coordination and the promotion of highly innovative training activities.
In September 2016 the “Istituto Scolastico Superiore Abate Zanetti” officially opened; it is a Technical and Technological secondary school with a Graphics and Communication Sector offering education and training in the glass art.
It is not a vocational school, but a sort of high school aiming at training “designers” and “work of art drawers” well into both the theory and the practice of glass production, able to support the masters of glassware production and create a new type of business through innovation and experimentation.
The transversal competences, together with new incentives and a wider planning, are trying to overcome the recent hard times that the Venetian glass sector has undergone as to the generational turnover.
The second goal, naturally following the first one, is to produce. It aims at opening new opportunities in a market contest that requires new solutions.
With the aim of preserving and protecting the age-old tradition of this wonderful art, in 1985 the “Consorzio Promovetro (www.promovetro.com) was founded, the only organization representing Murano glass handicrafts and companies, which is entrusted with managing the brand “Vetro Artistico® Murano”, acknowledged by the Veneto region (resolution n.70 of 23rd December 1994) and registered by the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market in Alicante.
The Brand (www.muranoglass.com) can only apply to the glass artifacts produced on the island of Murano, respectful of the ancient Murano tradition.
Promovetro’s activity focuses on participating in the main national and international trade fairs; on the organization of trade missions, seminars and workshops; on the realization of important image exhibitions, events and installations and the provision of business services, coordinating and supporting member companies in every need.
Moreover, “Consorzio Promovetro” deals with the realization of promotional media such as catalogues, brochures, cd-roms, web-sites, videos. The Consorzio is also equipped with a mobile melting furnace and an annealing furnace, which are easy to carry and often used on request for live demonstrations of glass production, in fairs and events.
Since 2016 “Consorzio Promovetro” has been acknowledged by the Veneto Region as a legal entity representing the “Distretto del vetro artistico di Murano” and the Venetian Glass.
Despite a manifest decrease in turnover, due to the difficult global economic situation, the sector has a strong propensity to international trade.
The production is mainly made up of household goods and gifts, such as vases, sculptures, ornaments, glasses, goblets, jugs, bowls, cups, cake-stands, trays, murrine, jewelry and lampworking objects; together with lighting equipment – chandeliers, lamps, suspensions, appliques – and to a lesser extent the decoration, engraving, grinding, or other finished products such as mirrors, molds and stained glass.
Not to forget the articles concerning “design lighting” and the works resulting from the cooperation with designers, architects and artists from all around the world for the creation of unique objects.
Since 1956, on Murano Island has been operating the “Experimental Glass Station” (Società consortile per Azioni) with the task of promoting the technical improvement of the national glass industry through investigations, studies, research and analysis. Since 2000, some more laboratories are operating at the “Parco Scientifico e Tecnologico di Venezia-Marghera”.
The Experimental Glass Station is the only body in Italy that deals institutionally with the technical and scientific problems of the entire glass industry (hollow, flat, fiber, technical, handmade, raw materials, refractory products, furnaces, etc.), including the one operating in the artistic glass sector. It plays an important role in transferring the results from research to the practical application in the manufacturing process.
The Experimental Glass Station is included among the highly qualified institutions defined and provided by the Act n. 46 of 1982 on Applied Research. In 1993 he was acknowledged by the National Accreditation System of Laboratories (ACCREDIA).
It is an authority entitled to operate as a Notified Laboratory at the European Commission for the certification of glass products for the building industry in accordance with EU Regulation n. 305/2011 on the CE marking.