L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano T he Romans are known for their ingenuity: aque- ducts, road sys- t e m s , d a i l y newspapers, cement, sanita- tion, elements of social care, w e l f a r e a n d o u r m o d e r n legal system all come from them. That's without even t a k i n g i n t o a c c o u n t t h e i r military and tactical know- how. However, I was surprised to find out they may also have created something that seems more adequate in a c l a s s r o o m a t H o g w a r t s , rather than imperial Rome: u n b r e a k a b l e , f l e x i b l e glass, or vitrum flexile, to say it as they would. Now, if you ask me, "flexible glass" is an oxymoron: glass is, by definition fragile and highly b r e a k a b l e , s o h o w c a n i t b e n d ? W e s h o u l d a s k a n anonymous glassmaker of t h e t i m e s o f E m p e r o r Tiberius - the one reigning, according to the Gospels, when Jesus Christ was born - who apparently came out w i t h t h i s l i f e - c h a n g i n g , epochal invention but … fell into oblivion with it. Let's take things in the r i g h t o r d e r . G l a s s w a s a l r e a d y k n o w n t o t h e a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n s , e v e n though we usually associate it with the Phoenicians, who were not only expert makers but also discovered many of its uses. As they w e r e a p e o p l e o f t r a d e r s , glassware turned into one of t h e i r m a i n t r a d i n g a n d exchange goods. The Romans themselves became skillful glassmakers, as attested by the numerous findings - jars, cups, plates, b o w l s - w e ' v e b e e n unearthing since the glori- ous discipline of archaeolo- gy came to exist. Yet, no sign of flexible glass anywhere, at l e a s t t a n g i b l y , b e c a u s e ancient sources do mention it, in more than one occa- sion. Great names of Latin literature spent words about it, Pliny the Elder and Petro- nius above all, with men- tions made also by Sueto- nius and Cassius Dio. These are notable Latin writers, whose talents spanned from science and history - Pliny with his Naturalis Historia - to satire - Petronius and his Satyricon - so it's safe to bet flexible glass was some- thing Romans spoke about quite a lot it was mentioned in their works. Both have similar tellings of the story, but their atti- tude toward it is pretty dif- ferent. According to Petro- nius, a Roman glassmaker managed to obtain an audi- ence with Emperor Tiberius t o s h o w h i s s p e c t a c u l a r i n v e n t i o n , u n b r e a k a b l e g l a s s . H e p r e s e n t e d t h e Emperor with a cup, which Tiberius examined carefully a n d t h e n r e t u r n e d t o i t s owner. Once he had it back in his own hands, the glass- maker threw it to the floor, under the surprised gaze of a l l . B u t t h a t w a s n o t h i n g compared to the amazement t h a t m u s t h a v e f i l l e d t h e imperial hall when not only the cup didn't break, but it merely showed a small dent w h i c h i t s m a k e r q u i c k l y repaired with a hammer. So, what do you think the Emperor did? He had the poor glassmaker imprisoned a n d s e n t e n c e d t o d e a t h . Why? Because its invention - of which, by the way, he c a r r i e d t h e s e c r e t t o t h e Otherworld - could poten- tially reduce the value of precious metals like gold and silver. Pliny the Elder's own rendition of the story is a tad drier than Petronius' but t h e g i s t i s t h e s a m e : a Roman glassmaker invents flexible glass thinking, quite rightly, to have created the next best thing after sliced bread but, instead of obtain- ing imperial approval, he h a s h i s w o r k s h o p c l o s e d down. Pliny gives the same r e a s o n s a s P e t r o n i u s f o r T i b e r i u s ' d e c i s i o n : t h e Emperor was afraid that the new material could devalue precious metals. The great w r i t e r a n d m i l i t a r y m a n , h o w e v e r , g i v e s u s m o r e information about the story: he tells us that there was no r e a l p r o o f o f i t . I n o t h e r words, it may well have been an ancient-times urban leg- end. Considering we haven't c o m e a c r o s s a n y a r t i f a c t m a d e o f f l e x i b l e g l a s s i n centuries of archaeological excavations up and down the lands of the old empire, Pliny's considerations don't s e e m t o o f a r - f e t c h e d . I f something as revolutionary as indestructible glass was invented, most glass vessels a n d u t e n s i l s w o u l d h a v e been made of it. But noth- i n g . I t ' s a l s o d i f f i c u l t t o i m a g i n e t h a t s u c h a l i f e - changing discovery didn't cross geographical bound- aries and historical epochs t o b e c o m e u b i q u i t o u s throughout the Empire and, l a t e r , a l s o i n M e d i e v a l Europe. So, it seems that flexible glass may not be, in the end, one of Rome's many inven- tions, but the idea was pret- ty innovative for the times. I t ' s i n t e r e s t i n g t o s p e n d some words about the actual feasibility of it. According to the website The Archeolo- gist, our imperial glassmak- er could have well created the material: he only needed to have access to boric acid or borax and add it to the glass mixture, because that w o u l d m a k e t h e m a t e r i a l s t r o n g e r a n d a l m o s t unbreakable. The problem is t h a t , a t t h e t i m e , n e i t h e r borax nor boric acid were known to the Romans. His- torical records show that b o t h w e r e , e v e n t u a l l y , imported to Italy from East- ern Europe during the Mid- dle Ages, when they were commonly used especially by goldsmiths. The mineral was also found in Maremma - so not that far from Rome - but only in the 19th century. And while it's not impossi- b l e o u r g l a s s m a k e r h a d somehow access to borax in t h e e a r l y d e c a d e s o f t h e Roman Empire, it remains quite unlikely. It really looks like flexible glass is something that can only be made at Hogwarts, in the end... LUCA SIGNORINI Colorful glass bottles: did the Romans hold the secret to making flexible glass? (Photo: Steve Estvanik/Shutterstock) Rome and its legendary flexible glass HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS PEOPLE

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