Glass Art Museum: The Relationship with Ferrania

The F.I.L.M. Fabbrica Italiana Lamine Milano (Italian Factory of Sheets in Milan), that made films and photographic products, was born in Ferrania, a village not far from Altare, in the early twentieth century.

Since the field in which the F.I.L.M. carried out its activity was in the chemical sector, it was necessary to have special laboratory glassware that were supplied by the S.A.V. – Società Artistico Vetraria- (Artistic Glassmaking Society) of Altare for a long time.

The glassware produced and supplied by S.A.V. were exclusively made by the furnace – like the ones displayed in this room – and were later replaced by borosilicate glass (Pyrex), much more suitable to use in the chemical laboratories for the advantages it offers: resistance to high temperatures, low aggression by acids, possibility of being repaired in case of breakage.

The F.I.L.M. intensified its activity with the emergence of films and plates and offered a possibility of stable use that attracted some glassmakers, who were hired for the Pyrex glass processing, thus continuing the “collaboration” between Altare and Ferrania.

Bibliografy:

Alessandro Marenco, Gabriele Mina, Beute e termometri (Flasks and Thermometers). Il vetro a Ferrania (Glass in Ferrania), in Vetri da laboratorio e farmacia (Laboratory and pharmacy glass). La produzione della S.A.V. di Altare (The production of S.A.V. in Altare), Sagep editor – 2019, pp. 72-77