Talk:Altare

Origin of glassmaking

This page contained the sole opinion of Samuel Kurinsky, who maintains that the ancient glassmakers were in reality Sephardite Jews, who took refuge in the Ligurian Appennines. He bases his conclusion on two facts. First, the glassmakers viewed themselves as separated from the rest of the population, a sort of a cast, says Dr. Kurinsky, such as the Jews were whenever they mixed with Christians. Second, their techniques were kept secret.

I personally find Dr Kurinsky's conclusion, detailed in his numerous books and articles, unconvincing. For starters, most Medieval craftsmen organized themselves into guilds, to protect their economic interests. Glassmakers in particular, were very jealous of their trade secrets : Venice put to death whoever leaked information on them. That naturally contributed to forming a cast mentality, which in cities encompassed a variety of social classes. Altare was a small, minuscule village and class distinction became very marked, without hinting in any way to ethnic or religious diversity. So I moderated Dr Kurinsky's view with that of other authors, such as Anselmo Mallarini - who maintains that glassworks were brought there by Benedectine monks - and Malandra. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Badano5 (talk • contribs) 22:50, 19 February 2018 (UTC)