ROSA BAROVIER MENTASTI
Descending from one of Venice’s ancient glass making families, Rosa Barovier Mentasti was awarded a degree in Ancient Literature by the University of Padua in 1973 with a thesis on antique glass. Since then, she has been dedicated to studying the history of both ancient and modern Venetian glass. In addition to many articles and publications, including Il Vetro Veneziano dal Medioevo ad oggi published in 1982, she has curated several international exhibitions of ancient and contemporary glass, including Vetri. Nel Mondo. Oggi, hosted by the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti in Venice in 2004.

MARTINA FRANK
Martina Frank is currently professor for Art History at the Università Ca’ Foscari in Venice. She has previous teaching and research experiences in several European universities (Vienna, Udine, Graz, Innsbruck) and in Canada (Montréal). Author of numerous essays concerning the history of art and architecture of the Republic of Venice from the 15th to the 19th Century. Among her books a study of the patronage of the Manin family (1996), a monograph on Baldassare Longhena (2004) and Giardini dipinti (2008). Editor of Da Longhena a Selva.Un’idea di Venezia a dieci anni dalla scomparsa di Elena Bassi (2010) and Santa Maria di Nazareth. Arte e spiritualità dei Carmelitani Scalzi a Venezia. Member of the scientific boards of « Carnets du Paysage » (Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Paysage, Versailles), « 1800-MDCCC » (Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia), « Intrecci » (Università di Bologna).

WILLIAM GUDENRATH
As resident advisor for the Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass, he teaches introductory and advanced courses in Venetian techniques. A glassblower, scholar, lecturer and teacher of glassblowing, he is an authority on historical hot glassworking techniques from ancient Egypt through the Renaissance and has presented lectures and demonstrations throughout the world. He demonstrates techniques he believes to have been employed by glassmakers of the past and these are described in a number of books and video segments including: Chronicle: the Portland Vase, Five Thousand Year of Glass, Journey through Glass: A Tour of the Corning Museum Collection and MasterClass Series II: Introduction to Venetian Techniques, Glass Masters at Work: William Gudenrath, Glassworking Processes and Properties, Roman cameo Museum Glass in the British Museum.

LINO TAGLIAPIETRA
Exceptional glass master and well known world-round as glass artist. He was born in Murano and was just a young man when he first entered a glass makers shop: he became a glass maestro in the 1950’s and has worked for some of the most prestigious glass makers in the island. Since the late sixties his creativity resulted in models of great quality, both from the point of view of technique and beauty, that were a clear success on the market. He has been an independent glass artist since 1990 and is now committed to creating unique pieces that are exhibited in the most prestigious private collections and museums worldwide. In 2009, the Tacoma Art Museum dedicated a retrospective to his works with an exhibition that was then lentto other US museums. In 2011, the Istituto Veneto dedicated to him the exhibition Lino Tagliapietra, da Murano allo Studio Glass.

CRISTINA TONINI
With a degree in History of Art awarded by the State University of Milan under the guidance of Prof. De Vecchi, from 1989 to 2004 she acted as Conservator for the classification and the new layout of the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum in Milano. Together with Rosa Barovier she published the catalogue of the museum’s Venetian glass. She also curated the catalogues of the Medieval and Modern glass collections of the Civic Museums of Pavia, of the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milano and the Pogliaghi Museum in Varese, the latter is about to be published. Other articles on Venetian and Medicaean glass have been published by Decart and the Journal Glass Studies of Corning Museum of Glass. She is part of the Board of Directors of the Italian section of the Association Internationale Histoire du Verre. She is professor of art in the Orsoline Artistic Liceo in Milano.

MARCO VERITÀ
Holding a degree in Chemistry, he worked for over thirty years in the Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro in Venice-Murano, performing research and assessments on glass materials, both modern and ancient, the latter for archeometric purposes and also to assess issues relating to conservation and restoration. Member of numerous international organizations, since 2009 he has been working with the Laboratory for the Assessment of Ancient Materials (LAMA) of the IUAV University of Venice.