When the 2026 Winter Olympics closing ceremonies took place last month at the 2,000-year-old Verona Arena, Italian culture was on prominent display alongside the athletes from around the world. Appropriate for the city Shakespeare chose as the location for Romeo and Juliet, the ceremony included Italian ballet, Italian opera, and, for the symbolic carrying of the flame, an Italian glass vessel artfully designed and hand-blown by the most famous Italian glassblower in the world,
The story of how this elegant glass flame holder came to be starts back in September 2025, when Jacopo Vechiatto, Lino Tagliapietra's grandson who manages the 91-year-old maestro's business, received a call from the committee planning the closing ceremonies, he told the Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet. Over several meetings, the "Drop of Water" concept and design of the glass flamekeeping vessel were decided.
Sworn to secrecy, Vechiatto needed to work with glassblowers Lino trusted, not only to be able to assist him in creating a flawless vessel for the Olympic flame, but also to keep the project private until its unveiling in late February.
"I spoke with Lino and it felt essential to work only with people we trust completely—artistically, ethically, and personally.," Vechiatto said. "While Lino has worked all over the world, Seattle was a place where he found great success, not only among glass collectors, but among the enthusiastic community of makers, several of whom forged deep bonds with the maestro, working on his team and making some of the works he is most famous for."
Jacopo traveled to Seattle in December to run some initial tests with Dante Marioni and John Kiley, both of whom have worked with Lino for decades, and remain close friends. The two then flew to Murano in January to bring the actual piece to life, working alongside Lino in a rented Murano glass studio.
"Being invited by the Maestro to come and work with him in on Murano under any circumstance a pretty big deal," John Kiley told the Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet. "I’ve been fortunate enough to blow glass on Murano with Lino many times but having him come out of retirement at 92 to make the Olympic torch with Dante and me was unbelievably cool. It’s one of those professional and life experiences that one never forgets."
"It was fun to see all three of them together again," says Jacopo. "Lino at 91 felt a burst of energy, every morning going to the furnace with them. To see this made me really happy."
The project was not an easy one, with a major challenge figuring out how to blow glass that could safely contain a live flame for the required period of time without cracking from the heat.
The actual flame was not as big as Marioni had imagined."I thought it was going to be a big fire," Marioni told the Glass Quarterly Hot Sheet. They had extensively tested the thickness and ability of the glass to withstand prolonged heat.
"I’ll admit I was stressed throughout the entire ceremony with lots of what if...but everything worked perfectly," says Vechiato.
Though it didn't seem to make it into the NBC broadcast of the Olympics, the arrival of the vessel was featured prominently in Italian live coverage, and the response was intense. "We got too many phone calls sending love to Lino," says Vecchiato. "We were all shocked!"
Lino didn't attend the closing ceremony in person, but watched it on television and was "deeply moved," according to his grandson. The Drop of Fire vessel containing the lit flame was carried into the arena by star Italian athletes including skater Arianna Fontana, whose silver metal in the 500 meters during the Winter games made her the most decorated Italian female athlete with 13 medals to her name.
The "Drop of FIre" will go on permanent display in Murano, at Lino's personal museum and gallery, while its twin has been donated to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.
For the American glassblowers who got the opportunity to make history with Lino, it was an experience that will never be forgotten.
"More than anything, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the experience of working together with two of my favorite people again," Kiley says.