For over one hundred years now, the Vetrate d'Arte Giuliani (Giuliani Artistic Windows) Atelier of Rome has actively been designing and producing windows with great mastery and incredible skill. Accordingly, its work can be found all over the world in a wide range of settings.

"People are like stained glass windows" Fernando Pessoa once wrote. "They shine and glimmer when it is sunny outside. But when darkness comes, their true beauty is only revealed if a light is lit from the inside". The spark that makes Atelier Giuliani shine is manager Elsa Nocentini, who opened the doors of her workshop to tell us about the enthusiasm her artisans have for this ancient art form.

The Rome Atelier is home to a wealth of experience unique of its kind. It has been brought together over many years of work, and is immediately conveyed to the visitor by the sketches hanging on the walls, along with the samples that demonstrate the various traditional techniques. This is where the designs for projects brought to life worldwide are created, from the palace of Qatar to the Mosque of Rome, down to the more recent restoration of the windows of the Casina delle Civette Museum at Villa Torlonia, which the atelier itself had produced in 1920.
The work was carried out based on the original sketches, which had been preserved in the company archives.

But the list of completed works goes on: from the residence of the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Rome, to the stained glass window of the Banca di Roma, the cupola for the residence of Faisal Sultan Al Essa in Kuwait to the windows of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Dubai, and the Cappella Paolina chapel for the Vatican.

Indeed the Atelier boasts a special relationship with the Vatican: the artisans produced a special portrayal of the papal coat of arms in glass for the private apartments of the Holy Father.

Indeed the Atelier boasts a special relationship with the Vatican: the artisans produced a special portrayal of the papal coat of arms in glass for the private apartments of the Holy Father.

One of the atelier’s master artisans showed us how the production techniques have remained unchanged over the course of the years: the only real innovations concern the technology involved in firing the material, whilst all the other technical aspects such as the cutting, laying and welding are still carried out with the same methods as those used when the workshop first opened its doors in 1900. The choice of colour, for instance, is still down to the artisan’s own vision and sensibility. Indeed there are many colour variations: up to 20 different types of green can be obtained, for example, and it is vital to find the right palette of hues from amongst all those available.

Mastery, experience and creativity are just some of the key assets of these master artisans. Their professional skills are rooted in the workshop’s time-honoured history, but first and foremost they are its future, with occasional help from the establishment. In fact, in order to sustain the sector’s development and to protect traditional and artistic craftsmanship, the councillor’s department for manufacturing and artisan businesses of the Lazio Region is promoting a project entitled "Artigianato Artistico Lazio" (Artistic Craftsmanship of Lazio). Its aim is to identify, promote and valorise Lazio’s artisan businesses. Within this framework, the Vetrate d'Arte Giuliani Atelier was recently presented in the catalogue brought out by the BIC (Business Innovation Center).