Empoli Glass

A short history

Empoli, a town on the Arno between Florence and Pisa, has made glass for centuries. Its glassworks grew up producing the green wine flasks and demijohns that Tuscany's wineries needed, and the region's greenish "verde" glass became its trademark.

By the 1930s Empoli's factories were combining that green glass with decorative work, and after World War II colored glass took over. From the 1950s through the 1970s the town's glassworks turned out huge quantities of tableware and decorative pieces for the Italian market and for export, including to the United States. That's the "Empoli glass" collectors look for today.

Empoli and the surrounding area remain one of Italy's important glassmaking districts, and the town's glass museum, the Museo del Vetro, tells the story of the industry and the families who worked in it.

What to look for

• Genie bottles and decanters — tall, tapering bottles with flame-shaped stoppers, sometimes over two feet high.
• Apothecary and "circus tent" jars — lidded jars with pointed or ribbed lids, often on a pedestal.
• Optic and swirl glass — molded ribs or spirals that catch the light, in amber, teal, olive and cranberry.
• Cased glass — a layer of color over white or clear, as in many of the pink goblets.
• Twisted and air-twist stems — goblets, compotes and candy dishes on spiral stems.

Identifying Empoli

• No factory name. Empoli glass came from many different glassworks, and pieces rarely carry a maker's mark. "Empoli" describes the town and style more than a single company.
• Labels. When anything survives, it's usually a foil "Made in Italy" or importer label.
• Color and weight. Rich, even color, thick walls and a ground or polished base are typical. The classic palette is amber, olive green, peacock blue and pink.
• "Empoli style." Similar glass was made elsewhere; we say "Empoli style" when we can't be confident about origin.

Further reading

• Empoli glass on Visit Tuscany — the region's glassmaking tradition
• Empoli Glass on Google Arts & Culture — history from the Empoli glass museum