Even in the slowest city in the world something is moving; and a positive sign comes from the tourism and commercial sectors, very often seen as weak points by visitors to Venice because of the poor quality of service and a certain lassitude in stating the origins of the product being sold.
The Consorzio Promovetro (for the promotion of glass) was founded in 1985 and represents 65 of the 100 glass factories on the island. The consortium manages the Vetro Artistico® Murano trademark instituted by Regional Law in 1994, and one of its main aims is to counter the numerous speculative attempts at falsification.
Glass therefore can be considered 'd.o.c.' (like wine) with the hallmark applied to products to guarantee their place of origin - not to replace the trade name but to safeguard producers and as a guarantee for the better informed salespersons and customers.
Providing information for clients is, in point of fact, one of the main activities of the Consortium, which through its own glassmark promotes ideas, traditions and innovations and is the watchdog of professional standards in marketing. These essential guidelines guarantee Murano a future worthy of its prestigious past. And they explain why Promovetro is taking definite steps to shield tourists who make purchases, endeavouring to establish a clear and honest relationship with them. The numbers speak for themselves: the country-wide advertising campaign that started in September 2002 has more recently
been flanked by consumer services such as the Call Centre - 2,500 calls in three months of operation - the website with 98,000 visitors between December 2003 and the present day, over 240,000 'guides to informed purchasing' distributed in the summer months at public transport ticket offices, 5,000 brochures distributed through the Tourist Board information offices, and a further 70,000 made available at the Venice Port Passenger Terminals for the cruise ships arriving and departing from the city. Not to mention 100 information posters placed on the Actv ferry landing stages. This is the publicity machine. To protect the local glass craft and manufacture, the Consorzo Promovetro has gone from words to facts, taking the lead in reporting counterfeit glass products produced elsewhere and fraudulent commerce. That is why the 17 November of last year was an important date in the history of Murano glass: it was the day the Court of Venice condemned a Venetian dealer for selling products manufactured elsewhere but passed off as Murano glass.
This court sentence creates a precedence which now stands: it confirms the principle that only what is exclusively produced on the Venetian island can be defined as Murano glass.
Another step against all that so-called made in Murano - produced miles away.
