The history of glass-making is very old and even now covered in the deepest mystery. The Phoenicians and the Egyptians argued for centuries over who had first discovered the art.
A Phoenician story narrates that a group of merchants, returning from Egypt with a large cargo of "natron" (our sodium carbonate), stopped one evening along the banks of the River Belus to rest.
As they could find no stones on which to place the utensils required for the preparation of their evening meal, they used instead some blocks of "natron" and lit a fire nearby that continued to burn for the whole night.
The morning after, the merchants were astonished to see that, instead of the sand of the river and the natron, a strange, shiny and transparent material had been created. The Phoenicians realised at once the importance of the discovery and, in their cities of Tyre and Sidon, organised an industry that produced various objects with this new, shiny material called glass.
The Egyptians also exploited the new discovery. In their burial chambers, built some 4,000 years before the birth of Christ, many amulets and objects made from glass have been found.
Romans did their bit to the development of glass industry. Towards 100 b.C. they tuned up the production meant for the blowing in the dies as to increase the range of the possible handworks.
Geometric-shaped bottles are an example, they are indeed called "Roman bottles"and are taken as a model/pattern for the following glass-containers.
During the Roman Empire ,the production of glass largely spread and reached the finest quality. Ciceron wrote: "The man who doesn't own a house covered with glass-plates".
With the fall of the Roman Empire, the East regained the position/role of barycentre of culture.
In Venice, during medieval times, the art of glass making that had begun towards the Xth century was developed thanks to the very frequent contacts with the city of Byzantium that for many centuries remained a centre for the production of this precious material. From there, the new art was spread all over Europe, especially in Bohemia.
The realization of plumb-crystal dates back to the XVIII century and since then it has been always appreciated for its great beauty.
During the last centuries crystal has become a symbol of richness. Indeed it could be found only in the aristocratic houses.
Nowadays, although its usage is more diffused than in the past, the myth due to its ancient charm is still unchanged/has not changed, thanks to the unique brightness of crystal.