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Rural Tourism in Granada

Castril and the Glass

Castril and the Glass

The José Saramago Foundation in Castril is trying to recover an old tradition, which ended in 1878, "la vidriera" or what is the same: the making of glass.  This was an old job and tradition which began in this area in 1504 when a small workshop which made glass appeared in Castril. The workshop used the natural materials around: wood, "sílice", sand from the mounts around,  and "barrillas" , a wild plant which was essential to transform the sand into liquid. The main technique they used was casting and flowing and the colour of the glass obtained was green and different shades of green due to the impurities of the sand and the use of the "barrillas".

The products made were mainly used for the industry, but there were some kinds of jars, called "jarras castrileñas" which used to have from 2 to 6 handles. Nowadays, thanks to the José Saramago Foundation, the "Centro Andaluz del Vidrio" (The Andalusian Glass Centre) has been created in  Castril to try to recover this old tradition by creating the only artistic glass centre in all Andalusia. This centre has created a workshop with pupils which will learn the glass culture and the different techniques to make glass and glass artistic objects.

Moreover, people can visit the centre and see these techniques by arranging an appointment phoning this number: 637155484 or by mail ecoturismo@ayuntamientocastril.com.

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