Pretiosa Vitrea - The Art of Glass Manufacturing in the Museums and Private Collections of Tuscany

Pretiosa Vitrea, whose title is inspired by the Latin definition of glass given by Gaius Petronius in the Satyricon written in the late first century AD, emphasises the heritage of glass manufacturing through the showcase of artifacts nowadays preserved in the state museums of Tuscany and in important private collections within the region. The quality of these 100 findings is comparable in excellence to the artifacts that can be found in the most renowned international museums. The book brings together such relevant archaeological findings of Roman glass manufacturing in Tuscany, as the glass cameo from Torrita di Siena or the chrysography of Arezzo. Alongside these exclusive glass products, a wide variety of findings will be showcased to illustrate the evolution of mass-production techniques, from the use of moulds to the discovery of the glass-blowing technique in the middle of the first century BC, which soon demonstrated clear advantages compared to the traditional ceramic production in terms of lower cost and preserving unchanged the taste of contained food and liquids. Text in English and Italian.