The Council of Ministers has declared the technique of glassblowing in Spain as a Representative Manifestation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, especially highlighting the production centers of more than three centuries of activity, such as the Gordiola Glass in Mallorca and the National Glass Center of La Granja in Segovia.

To ratify this decision, the Government has approved a Royal Decree as a result of the reports of the Historical Heritage Council and the CSIC as consultative institutions on the matter. In the text, reference is made to the description of this technique, establishing that its processes, knowledge, products, instruments and associated machinery, as well as architectural spaces present a set of historical, intangible, technological and artistic values that deserve preservation, as they are an activity linked to Spanish culture.

Vidriería Gordiola Mallorca

“An immeasurable honor”

Marisa Aldeguer, one of the five siblings of the current generation of Gordiola glassworks, assured to Mallorca Caprice that “the news is an immeasurable honor and joy. A recognition like this is fantastic and fills us with pride, both for our generation and, above all, for the previous ones”. Aldeguer had a few words for her father, “that he put his whole life in the business for this to continue. We are carriers of this technique that we hope will last for many years”. The family representative also recalled that this recognition “is in addition to the one we already had from the Mallorcan public and the foreigners who visit us. Important people, such as Queen Emerita Doña Sofía, a lover of art in general, always includes us in her itinerary when she visits Mallorca”.

Although this technique has been established in Mallorca for several thousand years, it was the Gordiola family that gave it its current prestige several generations ago, since its foundation in 1719. Thanks to the blowing technique and its totally handmade manufacture, each of the objects that they produce is unique and unrepeatable.

Currently, Gordiola has two stores, one on Calle de la Victoria, 2, in Palma, and the other next to the Algaida factory. Lovers of this technique can visit both establishments, however the visit to the ovens to appreciate how these artisans work will not be available until August, when the maintenance of the ovens is finished. Some works that are carried out from time to time, according to Aldeguer.