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Murano has historically been one of the most important handicraft districts in Italy due to its tradition of glassmaking, giving rise to a unique local economy and highly specialised workers. While art historians have made numerous contributions to the study of this reality, less active have been scholars of economic history, business and management. With rare exceptions, the existing literature lacks an investigation of the factory, processes and workforce behind the creation of value in this ancient production tradition. Characterised as a work of oral history, this book is a prosopography based on the stories of four witnesses in various historic glassmaking factories, recorded through a series of long and repeated interviews.
The aim is not to provide an exhaustive description of the dynamics of glass making, but rather to offer an interpretation of certain aspects of the field through the experiences and reflections of people who have worked in it for a long time. This book puts the stories, as told by witnesses, at the centre, inverting the traditional role between collection and restitution of data that usually characterizes academic publications. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of crafts and creative industry studies, business history and organisation studies, as well as all those with an interest in Murano glass.
List of contents
Part 1: Introduction.- Chapter 1: Murano and glass a brief historical overview.- Part 2: Oral histories.- Chapter 2: Memories from glass making.- Chapter 3: Professional experiences.- Chapter 4: Murano glass a fragile perspective.- Part 3: Food for thought from the perspective of management studies.- Chapter 5: Industry aspects individual experiences and fragments of companies histories a rereading.- Chapter 6: Methodological and literature issues.- Chapter 7:
About the author
Luca Zan
is Alma Mater Professor at the University of Bologna, Italy, and Director of GIOCA_Research Group. He was a long-serving adjunct faculty at Heinz College, CMU, Pittsburgh, and CAFA, Beijing, teaching arts management. His research interests include management of heritage and arts organizations, strategic change processes and management and accounting history.
Maria Lusiani
is Associate Professor of Accounting and Business Administration at the University of Bologna, where she teaches Management Control Systems, and Management of Artistic and Cultural Organizations. Her research deals with management and accounting practices in cultural and creative settings, accounting history and qualitative research methodologies.
Jessica Tanghetti
is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Bologna, Italy, where she is involved in a Horizon 2020 funded project on the societal value of culture. Before joining University of Bologna, she was post-doctoral research fellow at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice. Her research deals with museum and art management, cultural work, crafts and creative clusters.
Summary
Murano has historically been one of the most important handicraft districts in Italy due to its tradition of glassmaking, giving rise to a unique local economy and highly specialised workers. While art historians have made numerous contributions to the study of this reality, less active have been scholars of economic history, business and management. With rare exceptions, the existing literature lacks an investigation of the factory, processes and workforce behind the creation of value in this ancient production tradition. Characterised as a work of oral history, this book is a prosopography based on the stories of four witnesses in various historic glassmaking factories, recorded through a series of long and repeated interviews.
The aim is not to provide an exhaustive description of the dynamics of glass making, but rather to offer an interpretation of certain aspects of the field through the experiences and reflections of people who have worked in it for a long time. This book puts the stories, as told by witnesses, at the centre, inverting the traditional role between collection and restitution of data that usually characterizes academic publications. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of crafts and creative industry studies, business history and organisation studies, as well as all those with an interest in Murano glass.
