Altare ( lij, Artâ, pms, Latè, L’Atæ in local dialect) is a ''
comune'' (municipality) in the
Province of Savona
The province of Savona ( it, provincia di Savona; Ligurian: ''provinsa de Sann-a'') is a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Savona, which has a population of 61,219 inhabitants. The province has a total population ...
in the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional It ...
region
Liguria, located about west of
Genoa and about northwest of
Savona. As of 1 January 2009, it had a population of 2,160
[ August 2009.] and an area of .
Altare borders the following municipalities:
Cairo Montenotte
Cairo Montenotte () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in Liguria, an Italian region located west of Genoa and northwest of Savona. Located in Val Bormida, it is a member of the Comunità Montana Alta Val Bormida. It is c ...
,
Carcare
Carcare ( lij, Cancre, pms, Cärcre, locally ''Corcre'') is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about west of Genoa and about northwest of Savona.
Carcare borders the following municipal ...
,
Mallare
Mallare ( lij, Molre, locally ; pms, Mälre) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Savona.
Mallare borders the following municipalities: Altar ...
,
Quiliano
Quiliano ( lij, Cuggen) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Savona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,225 and an area of .All ...
, and
Savona.
Geography
Altare is just west of the Cadibona pass, which at divides the
Ligurian Alps
The Ligurian Alps are a mountain range in northwestern Italy. A small part is located in France. They form the south-western extremity of the Alps, separated from the Apennines by the Colle di Cadibona. The Col de Tende and the Vermenagna vall ...
from the Ligurian
Apennines
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
. 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
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. 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.
Altarist glassmakers were organized in
guilds, not unlike other medieval craftsmen. The guild, known as the University maintained a very strict control over the glassmakers' techniques. 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. 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.
[ Barrelet J., ''La verrerie en France de l'époque Gallo-Romaine à nos jours'', Paris, 1953] The Museum of Glass in Villa Rosa at Altare preserves many pieces of fine glass produced during this tradition.
References
Further reading
The Glass Museum of Altare* Chirico, Mariateresa. Il Museo Dell'arte Vetraria Altarese. Albenga, Litografia Bacchetta. 2009
Cities and towns in Liguria
Articles which contain graphical timelines
{{Liguria-geo-stub