Each furnace has its jealously guarded secrets.
In addition to the manufacturing processes, the companies also carefully store the recipes for composing the glass mixtures.
The Stazione Sperimentale was born after the war (in 1956 and since 2000 scientific laboratories also in Marghera)
The station was established at the same time as the Abate Zanetti School when there was a strong need to enter a scientific order, because the school was scientific, we spoke in scientific terms.
Already in the years 1943/44 there was talk of establishing a reference center as a national necessity, the school was national because it was unique in Italy.
And the station was talked about because it needed the use of materials for glass, partly to experiment and partly to find economically advantageous production solutions.
Cases of industrial espionage have always happened in the history of Murano, as well as master composers who have gone away taking away the notebooks with all the recipes. Anyone looking for such recipes can contact the Stazione Sperimentale.
The Stazione Sperimentale is an institution, financed by public funds and companies in the sector, which deals with research for everything related to glass. It is based in Murano, but works throughout Italy. It is possible to contact the Stazione sperimentale del vetro to design the composition of the glass mixtures in order to obtain the desired characteristics. Hardness, color, brilliance, melting point, chemical resistance can within certain limits be obtained with the precious know-how of the employees.
This type of service allows you to have the desired glass without having to make dozens of attempts every time.
The Stazione Sperimentale also carries out analyzes of the environmental impact and the physical properties of the raw materials and the finished product.
The station publishes a magazine with the latest news on research and inside there is a well-stocked scientific library on everything related to glass.
Cesare Barbini, who was at the height of his business at the time, remembers that Luigi Zecchin talked about it a lot and would have liked to be the creator and director. However, despite being the highest authority in the glass industry, Zecchin was not well-versed in the ability to provide the necessary funds.
In a very interesting interview Cesare reports: "the factories, lacking in experimentation, went to the station to have their compositions corrected, but they went more often in secret, because many Muranesi had the presumption of being experts without really being one"
Address. Calle briati, 10 - Murano
Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro - Official website
