Carlo Scarpa also experimented with the ancient technique of lattimo. Lattimo had its “Golden Age” at the Venini & Company factory in 1930s, when it became a major collection designed by Venini. Some of his creations encase lattimo glass in one or more layers of colored or transparent glass. Scarpa also used lattimo glass in combination with another decorative element for glasswares called sommerso. Sommerso glass incorporates small or large particles into thick pieces of glass.[i] Blown pieces of glass are encased in a singular or multiple layers of glass. This effect is created by dipping glasswares into molten glass of various colors. The results are very bright pieces with intricate details featuring metallic elements or bubbles. Earlier sommerso glasswares feature the use of gold leaf or silver leaf particles as surface decoration. Scarpa revives sommerso by including the metallic elements inside of his lattimo glass. Some of Scarpa’s examples incorporate the metallic flakes also used in sommerso works while maintaining the purity of lattimo glass.

In Scarpa’s Lattimo Glass Vase, from the Christie’s Collection, the artist creates a perfectly circular vase of milky white lattimo glass. He also incorporates sommerso through a spiral band of silver metallic flakes that spins around the entire vase. The silver flakes are clearly placed in extremely carefully and with purpose. The silver sommerso against the white lattimo glass does not have an extreme contrasting affect. This ornamentation is simple and understated. Scarpa also experiments with shape in this lattimo vase. At first glance, the sphere would not appear to be a flower vase. However, it does have a hole at the top. The roundness of the vase is so perfect and elaborate. This exaggerated feature balances the simplicity in color and decoration.

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