I don’t recall ever being in a glass factory. Maybe I was ages ago and if that’s the case I guess all my memory of visiting one somehow vanished away into oblivion. So I was quite glad our tour of Central Malta stopped at Valletta Glass Factory. Obviously, it was intended to sell the products. But there was also a little workshop so I rushed in to see the craftsmen at work.

I felt like I was in candy land looking at the rainbow of silica sand used to produce glass, ranging from animal figures, to jewelry, to plates and basically anything to decorate your home. Here’s a little bit of tidbit that I didn’t know before. Silica sand is apparently an important component in many industries, used for water filtration, glass manufacture, industrial casting, and concrete production among others.

While the workshop was small and by far not in the same league as the Murano glass makers, our guide conversely said, it gave me a good insight into glass making. I really enjoyed seeing first hand the different processes used to produce glass. What struck me most was the precision the craftsmen needed to shape and cut the glass, including the proper intervals for blowing it to the right size. Not to mention working with heat. I may not have left with a material souvenir, but I now have an everlasting memory of how glass is made.

Until my next post … take care!

Read: Country #48: Beautiful Malta!
Read: In and out of Valletta, Malta
Read: Travelling around Malta by bus, boat or horse!
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Read: The golden city of M’dina, Malta
Read: The enchanting Three Cities, Malta