MUVE - Empoli Museum of Glass

The chosen venue for the museum is the Magazzino del Sale, an historical venue which had been used to stock salt from Volterra’s salines from 1365 up until the end of the 19th century. Empoli was a glass-manufacturing site already in the 15th century, but production was given a boost in the 18th century. Manufactured products consisted in everyday objects, bottles, flasks, carboys and glass items used for dining.

The Museum’s ground floor showcases this part of the production range and its technical development over time. Empoli’s green glass also went hand in hand with the manufacturing of decorative items, reaching its peak in the 1930s, when its dinner sets and decorative items became very popular. The first floor of the Museum hosts a collection of this part of the glass production and also features a multimedia area, as well as photographic exhibitions on the actual stages of glass manufacturing and the workforce involved.