Exhibition: A window on the past.

This article focuses on an exhibition "Vitrum," which runs until 31 October in Florence, Italy, shows that how Roman technologists made glass affordable in large part by perfecting glass- blowing techniques, which vastly increased its versatility too. Glassware used to be very precious but, as with all commodities, more efficient production methods made the price tumble. This is what happened in Roman times. Glass was still too expensive for poor households, but was apparently too cheap for the rich, who seemed to have stuck with their gold and silver vessels.