Altare

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Altare
Comune
Comune di Altare
Saint Eugene Church
Saint Eugene Church
Location of Altare
Map
Altare is located in Italy
Altare
Altare
Location of Altare in Italy
Altare is located in Liguria
Altare
Altare
Altare (Liguria)
Coordinates: 44°20′10.32″N 08°21′38.4″E / 44.3362000°N 8.360667°E / 44.3362000; 8.360667
CountryItaly
RegionLiguria
ProvinceProvince of Savona (SV)
Government
 • MayorGiuseppe Flavio Genta
Area
[1]
 • Total11.7 km2 (4.5 sq mi)
Elevation
398 m (1,306 ft)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total2,162
 • Density180/km2 (480/sq mi)
DemonymAltaresi
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
17041
Dialing code+39 019
Patron saintS.Rocco
Saint day16 August
WebsiteOfficial website

Altare (Ligurian: Artâ, Piedmontese: Latè, L’Atæ in local dialect) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about 45 km (28 mi) west of Genoa and about 11 km (6.8 mi) northwest of Savona. As of 1 January 2009, it had a population of 2,160[3] and an area of 11.7 km2 (4.5 sq mi).[4]

Altare borders the following municipalities: Cairo Montenotte, Carcare, Mallare, Quiliano, and Savona.

Geography[edit]

Altare is just west of the Cadibona pass, which at 459 m (1,506 ft)[5] divides the Ligurian Alps from the Ligurian Apennines. Also called pass of Altare, it is accessed from the coast by the Via Nazionale Piemonte, winding up from Savona and crossing into Piedmont towards the north Italian plain.

History[edit]

Altare was home to an ancient glassmaking tradition, dating back to the Middle Ages. The origin of Altare glassworks is still unknown. Oral tradition has it that the art was spread from Northern France by Benedictine monks.[6] Samuel Kurinsky posits that the original glassmakers were Sephardic Jews, based on the secretive character of their techniques and the distinct identity of the glassmakers as opposed to the rest of the population. If that is the case, they were completely assimilated, except for their traditional self-distinction. [7]

Altarist glassmakers were organized in guilds, not unlike other medieval craftsmen. The glassmakers guild in Altare was founded in 1856 as Società artistico-vetraria d'Altare.[8] The guild, known as the University, maintained a strict control over the glassmakers' techniques.[9][10]

Altaresi in Europe[edit]

Unlike the Venetians though, Altare was a net exporter of know-how throughout its history, as the local guild was never able to prevent the migration of its people to other places. Sometimes it even encouraged it. The importance of Altare revolves around this difference. For example, it appears that Giobatta Da Costa's invention of flint glass took place in London, while he worked for the Ravenscroft manufactory in 1674.[11] It is reported that the first glassmaker of Pisa, around 1592, was from Altare.[12] Altarist glassmakers operated in France, at Orléans and Nevers and one of them, Bernard Perrot went on to become master of the Royal Glassworks in Orléans, after patenting many innovative techniques.[13][14]

Altaresi in South America[edit]

There was a migration of Altarese glass-makers to South America, primarily Argentina.[15][16] A group of glassmakers left Altare in 1947 to establish themselves in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. There they started an industry of glass-making that remains active. They brought with them the European style glass blowing tradition, yet eventually they developed a cross-cultural style combining the European and Argentinean esthetics.[17]

Museum of Glass[edit]

The Museum of Glass in Villa Rosa at Altare preserves many pieces of industrial and art glass produced in the region. The museum is housed in an Art Nouveau building that is a culturally protected edifice. [7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Demography in Figures". Istituto nazionale di statistica (ISTAT). Archived from the original on 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2010-03-06. August 2009.
  4. ^ "City of Altare". comuni-italiani.it.
  5. ^ The altitude is embossed on the plaque that marks the summit of the pass.
  6. ^ Mallarini, Anselmo L'arte vetraria altarese, Bacchetta, 1995
  7. ^ a b Kurinsky, Samuel. "The Glassmakers of Altare". Hebrew History Federation (HHF). Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  8. ^ Laveleye, Emile de (1886). Letters from Italy. London: T. Fisher Unwin. p. 113.
  9. ^ Gasparetto, A (1958). Il vetro di Murano dalle Origini. Venezia.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Badano Brondi, Maria (2003). Il centro vetrario di Altare. Altare: Istituto per lo studio del vetro e dell'arte vetraria.
  11. ^ Thorpe, W.A: A history of English and Irish glass, London, 1929
  12. ^ Page, Jutta-Annette; Doménech, Ignasi (2004). Beyond Venice: Glass in Venetian Style, 1500-1750. New York: Corning Museum of Glass. p. 19. ISBN 0872901572.
  13. ^ Bondois P.M., Les Verreries nivernaise et orléanaise au xvii siècle. Jean Castellan et Bernard Perrot, Paris, 1932
  14. ^ Barrelet J., La verrerie en France de l'époque Gallo-Romaine à nos jours, Paris, 1953
  15. ^ Saroldi, Alberto (2010). "I vetrai di Altare in Argentina. Un'avventura lungo un millenario". I vetrai di Altare in Argentina. Genova: De Ferrari. pp. 17–74.
  16. ^ Saroldi, Alberto (2012). "I vetrai di Altare nella Provincia di Santa Fe, Argentina". Contribuciones Científicas GÆA. 24: 71–86.
  17. ^ Saroldi, Alberto; Vallebona, Luigi (2014). "Un incontro fra culture nella pampa Gringa". Anales de GÆA Sociedad Argentina de Estudios Geográficos. 23: 151–183. ISSN 0374-0323. Retrieved 15 May 2023.

Further reading[edit]

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