Glass tableware MINA by Joe Colombo for ‘Fidenza Vetraria’ made in Italy

These are original vintage pressed glass cups and tableware from the 1960s, attributed to the Italian designer Joe Colombo. After years of selling these pieces, I’ve been able to trace them back to their actual producer: Fidenza Vetraria, an Italian glass factory, where this design was sold under the product names “Miro” and “Arno”. “Arno” is one of the original product names — not the name of the manufacturer. This is where much of the confusion online comes from: people see “Arno” and assume it’s the maker or the brand, when in fact the glass was made by Fidenza Vetraria and simply sold under the “Arno” and “Miro” names. I originally listed these pieces as being made by “Arno” — an attribution I copied from 1stdibs when I first encountered the design — before I understood that Arno was a product name and Fidenza Vetraria the actual factory. I want to clear that up here. A note on attribution and authenticity When I first discovered these cups at a vintage market around 2010, I was immediately captivated by the design — the seamlessly stacked geometric shapes, the way pressed glass makes the contents look suspended above the table. I later found a matching listing on 1stdibs, which credited the design to Joe Colombo and named “Arno” as the producer. I used that information when I started selling these pieces, and it has since circulated widely online. After years of selling this glassware, I now understand the attribution more clearly. The pieces I sell came to me in original factory packaging from Fidenza Vetraria, an Italian pressed glass factory, where the design was produced and sold under the names “Miro” and “Arno”. “Arno” was never the manufacturer — it was one of the product names — and I want to be transparent about that rather than let the old “made by Arno” wording keep circulating. How to recognise the originals Modern reproductions of this design exist, and they are easy to tell apart once you know where to look. The reproductions carry an “Arno” mark with a star on the underside. The genuine 1960s pieces from Fidenza Vetraria are marked “ITALY” with a star instead. As far as I have seen, Fidenza Vetraria produced the cups and the milk and sugar sets only in clear glass and smoky brown. I have come across plates in a transparent green, but I have never found cups or a milk and sugar set in any colour other than clear or smoky brown. Everything I sell is original vintage glass from the 1960s. The design is consistent with the Italian modernist aesthetic of Joe Colombo — geometric, stackable, functional, beautiful — and the attribution to him remains plausible in spirit. The most accurate description I can give is: attributed to Joe Colombo, produced by Fidenza Vetraria, Italy, sold under the names “Miro” and “Arno”, circa 1960s. Dimensions Coffee / Tea cup D 8.5cm x W 10.5cm x H 6cm Espresso cup D 6.5cm x W 5.5cm x H 5cm Coffee / Tea Saucers D 14cm x W 14cm Espresso Saucers D 10,5cm x W 10,5cm Sugar bowl D 9cm x W 9cm x H 9cm Milk jug D 7cm x W 9cm x H 8.5cm Breakfast plate D 21,5cm x W 21,5cm Dinner plate D 23cm x W 23cm Egg cup / Candel holder D 5cm x W 5cm x H 5.5cm How to recognise an original — and spot a remake There are now remakes of this design being produced in Asia. Here is how to tell the difference: Original Fidenza Vetraria — marked on the bottom with a star and the word ITALY in capital letters. Remake — marked with ARNO and a star on the bottom. These are not vintage and not Italian. The “ARNO” mark on these newer pieces appears to be a brand name adopted for the remake, unrelated to the original Italian factory. Every piece I sell is an original vintage item from the 1960s.