Murano glassmakers threatened

Murano glass has long been prized for its rich colours, beauty and sophistication, but the global financial crisis is pushing the 700-year-old craft close to extinction.

Many orders are on hold, layoffs are rising and some furnaces are cold in a downturn symptomatic of the woes of manufacturers both small and large in Italy, Europe's fourth biggest economy.

In the last five years, sales at some companies have dropped by half, and the workforce has shrunk to 1,000 from about 5,000.

The current downturn "threatens the existence of Murano, even though two or three companies could remain," said Davide Camuccio, head of the Filcem-CGIL glass and chemical workers' union in Venice.

"This could be a mortal blow."

Artisans have been making glass on Murano, an island close to Venice in its tranquil lagoon, since the 13th century. Long a key centre of European glassmaking, its prized products ranged from chandeliers through jewellery to tableware.

Perhaps the island's most famous technique is the "retortoli", where opaque or white threads form a spiral, especially valued on Venetian goblets. "The situation is really, really disastrous right now. In all the years I've been working, I've never seen anything like this," said Gianfranco Albertini, president of Promovetro, an association grouping about 60 small companies, half the number of 40 years ago.

The days of Americans lining up to buy glass pieces that can cost thousands of euro are long gone. Sales have fallen as much as 15 per cent in recent years, and exports were about €250 million to €300 million in 2007, he said.