Caesare Toffolo demonstrating lampworking in the documentary.
into the working flame. In the documentary, Eric Goldschmidt guides us through this journey of discovering more about lampworking. At the beginning, we follow him walking around the Corning Museum of Glass, talking with Dr. Katherine Larson, the curator of ancient glass, about the origins of lampworking. Eric’s growing curiosity brings him to Murano, in the Venetian lagoon where he meets some of the most well-known lampworkers in the world. We watch him moving around Murano with the barchin (Venetian boat), we follow him through Venetian calli (narrow streets) as he meets with renowned glass masters and lampworking experts. He meets my father, Cesare Toffolo, Lucio Bubacco, Bruno “Gino” Amadi, Vittorio Costantini and Verilda de Polo. Amadi and Costantini convey their love for nature and for the Venetian lagoon in their works. Both started fishing from
Caesare Toffolo focusing on his craft in the documentary.
an early age, and living immersed in the lagoon fauna provided inspiration for both of their works. Lucio Bubacco instead focused more on human and anthropomorphic figures inspired above all by Greek mythology. Verilda De Polo, on the other hand, started working in the studio of Guglielmo Brussa, a Murano lampworker, together with 24 other women. Once that experience ended, she and the others started working on their own, bringing their experience around the island and inspiring other Muranese to pursue this career. The interview with Rosa Barovier Mentasti, Venetian glass historian, is accompanied by rare old videos, profound pictures and interesting private documentation that enriches the documentary. It also includes dramatic memories, like the story of Florino Toffolo and Luigi dal Moro, imprisoned by German soldiers and brought to Blechhammer and Auschwitz camps where they had both been assigned to scientific glass production, as it is told in the book Il Vetro a Lume - Lampworking: “It was both fate and their birthplace that brought the two men from Murano before a lampada da soffieria, lampworking equipment. They had been selected for the job and most certainly were not given the opportunity to choose for themselves. Over time both Toffolo and dal Moro perfected their technique, acquiring experience and mastery. Life in prison was slow and rather boring so for Toffolo, lampworking became a way to ‘escape’ the boredom and the sense of hopelessness caused by his imprisonment.” This and other stories are present within the film and I hope they will be a source of inspiration for new flameworkers who begin to discover this splendid material that is glass.
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