Opened in 2001, the Crystal Museum of Colle di Val d'Elsa, the only one of its kind in Italy, is located in the area of the ancient Boschi glassworks, the engine of the Colle di Val d'Elsa economy between the 1920s and the early 1950s .

Through an original itinerary on two levels that develop under the chimney of the glass factory, the museum traces the history of the local glass industry, starting from the beginning of the 19th century, up to the definitive affirmation of the lead crystal mixture (1963) , which characterized the entire second half of the twentieth century and which made Colle known throughout the world as the 'City of Crystal'.

Starting from the exhibition of some medieval finds relating to the production of the so-called 'gambassini' (glassworks have been known in Colle since 1331), the story begins in 1820, when the glassmaker Francesco Mathis opened a 'crystal' factory in Piano , next to the church of Sant'Agostino. The production, subsequently taken over by Giovan Battista Schmid, soon stood out in Italy for the high quality and purity of the white glass. Already at this time the articles were subjected to second processes, carried out through grinding and carving techniques.

Even today, crystal represents one of the most important production realities for Colle, so much so that in the city it has come to produce 15% of the crystal from all over the world and over 95% of all Italian crystal. The new market needs and a different environmental sensitivity have pushed companies towards an important innovation: producing a lead-free mixture, but with the same characteristics of brightness, transparency and sound, a green research that places the Colligian industry at the forefront in terms of sustainability, attention to health and the environment.

The museum's itinerary, totally revised in 2023, places emphasis not only on the production and history of glass and crystal, but above all on the people, men and women who made this development possible: for this reason, after the narration historical, which is told in the first level and which concludes with the large section dedicated to design, the second level is totally dedicated to the professional figures who populate the factories, or rather the 'squares', the spaces close to the ovens where they take shape objects. Through videos, testimonies and tools, the visitor is taken inside the life of the master glassmakers. The world of crystal comes alive, told by the protagonists themselves in a video documentary; the experience is enriched by a suggestive immersive journey played on the four elements (earth, water, fire and air), which allows you to see the crystal being born, passing through the different stages, from the raw materials to the incandescent fluid mass, up to the solidification in shapes transparent and bright.