The history of ceramics

Italy

ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ LEONARDO DA VINCI

Pottery, meant as an expression of art, is part of the human beings’ story since 35.000 years. Its developments faithfully show and explain evolution of religious and cultural behaviours and of socio-economical and commercial affairs of Italy.

From the first to the third century

In Italy the origins of ceramics date back to the I century, undergoing the influence of Etruscan and Roman cultures. We are speaking about rudimentary techniques, named “technique of black figures” and “technique of red figures”, characterised by the presence of silhouettes on the rim of pots. Fictile proofs of these products were founded in the Northern part of Italy (in Este, Padova, Vicenza, Montebelluna, Altino, Adria and Adriano Polesine were discovered numerous necropolises giving back a large sample of ceramic pots and utensils and so on.

In Arezzo, between the end of the I and the beginning of the III century p.c. there was the best production of a Roman ceramic type named “sealed earth”. Productions belonging to this category are characterized by a quite polished surface with a typical coral colour. Shapes were obtained through an earthenware mould; the name “sealed earth” really rises from the use of this mould that was called “sigillum”, while executing sleaves were called “sigillatores”.

From the fourth to the fifth century

During this period a new technique - named “engobe” – appeared, foreshadowing the coming of majolica. The surface of engobe products was covered by a white coat, decorated with graffito designs or painted with brown or green colours. The origin of this technique dates back to Greek culture, but its use was not continuative, so it was often lost and re-found, as it uses to happen to lots of craftmen techniques. Actually, englobe production spread over the Central-Southern part of Italy until the coming of majolica (XVIII century).

Middle Ages (from 476 to 1492) Italian ceramists’ objective was to search for a technique that enabled them to create luminous products. They aimed at finding a white background on which it was possible to paint obtaining luminous results (they were searching for the majolica, but they didn’t know this technique jet).

A good solution in this sense came from Spain (Paterna). We are speaking about the “stanniferous enamel”, that guarantees white and waterproof coverings. Ceramics belonging to this typology were founded in the Centre of Italy (Toscana, Siena, Firenze, Emilia e Veneto) and especially in Orvieto (Orvietan style ceramics).

Then it was the turn of majolica. Tradition wants Italian majolica to come from the island of Majorca (whence its name); while recent archaeological studies lean towards an autonomous development of ceramic techniques, internal to Italian country (XI century), from stanniferous enamels to majolica.

The use of majolica spread over Italy thanks to its contacts with Arabian people (for what concerns the techniques) and with Greek and Roman people (for what concerns the shapes and designes).

The most involved regions were: Sicilia, Puglia, Abruzzo, Toscana and Romagna (in particular Orvieto, Faenza, Forlì, Rimini and Ravenna produced very precious objects).

Renaissance (from 1400 to 1800) During the Renaissance ceramics reached remarkable technical results that leaded to new forms and decorations. These results were the fruits of work and experiences acquired during times and handed on from father to son. Across Central Italy, during 1500, majolica imposed itself and rapidly reached an high perfection level in techniques and artistic quality. Within this prolific production different styles distinguished. Gaetano Ballardini, a ceramist from Faenza, classified all the styles as regards to their belonging period into “families”, describing main behaviours of each “family”. A list of the “families” (from ‘400 to ‘800) follows.

Severe style It imposed itself during the beginning of ‘400. Decorations of this family distinguished for the presence of vegetable or stylised motifs influenced by the oriental style, with green and brown colours.

Green family This family distinguished for the almost exclusive use of green colour, obtained from copper oxide that trims shapes of men and animals. This style characterised Tuscan ceramics.

Zaffre family in relief The term “zaffre” derives from the Arabian “safre” meaning cobalt, a mineral from which deep blue colour is derived. In Italy, from 1430 to 1460, zaffre was abundantly applied in order to create shiny blue shapes. Drawings represented shapes of men surrounded by flowers, leafs, birds and so on.

Italo-Moresque family It was characterised by the use of yellow colour. From 1450 to 1480 Italian potters, trying to imitate Spanish ceramics production, used manganese and coloured surfaces in yellow-orange colours. The decorative motif was characterised by small leafs and shoots covering almost all the surfaces of pots.

Floreal-Gothic family This family belongs to the period from 1460 to 1490 and takes down the name of decorations referring to gothic miniatures.

Peacock’s eye family Peacock’s eye is the final part of peacock’s feather, that oriental people believe to be the symbol of eternal life. The polychromatic ceramics belonging to this family (1460-1495) were born after the interruption of trade relations between Italy and oriental markets (after the conquer of Constantinople by ottoman Turkish people). So importation of ceramics decorated with peacock’s eye motifs became scarce, while its request didn’t stop. So several artists imitated this decoration in order to make up for requests.

Fan training Persian family Productions belonging to this family (1475- 1500) imitated drawings of Persian carpets. The motifs were made of a vertical stem with leafs and eight stylised petals.

Grotesquery family It was characterised by the reproduction of monstrous human and animal shapes.

Porcelain family Various Italian cities (Urbino, Pesaro, Faenza, Montelupo) used to copy ornamental motifs of Chinese porcelain (branches of plum, exotic birds and small branches of cane).

Storied family From the end of ‘400 to the beginning of ‘500 there were deep changes in decorative motifs of ceramics products. These changes were due to diffusion of printing and production of illustrated sacred books, that gave to Italian makers of majolica ware lots of models to reproduce into their products. Human figure became protagonist. In the central part of pots and dishes a mythological or historical scene was reproduced. The figure of potter-painter – painting pots and dishes produced by artisans - was born in this period. These big dishes were used from painters as big cloths to be painted, and they suddenly became fashionable objects. Another phenomenon characterising this period was the patronage. Powerful figures (e.g. the Gonzagas, the Medicis, the pope Giulio XI) used to protect ceramists, that were no more forced to produce for own sustenance and had the possibility to test new techniques, especially concerning new glazes. The numerous requests from the upper classes of storied potteries lead to a copy-reproduction of the same object. At the end of ‘400 Faenza and Urbino became important production centres known at international level and, moreover, many ceramists leaved these cities to move towards other Italian centres in order to start up new shops specialised in production of storied potteries. The most used colour was blue in all its ranges. The storied majolica went suddenly out of fashion for their too long requested production work, high costs and difficulty to understand the significance of the scenes they reproduced.

Family of beautiful women This period was characterised by the reproduction of human faces, especially belonging to beautiful and prosperous women.

Beauty style family At the beginning of XVI century decorations drew on renaissance motifs and gave the effect of a painting. The Italian style was born in this period, after the abandon of oriental themes. In this period Italians got to like the embellishment of houses, and begun to hang dishes on the walls. This favoured the choice to paint figures and scenes in the central part of dishes.

Flowery style family In this period, in the central part of potters artists used to paint trophies, leafs and garlands in yellow, green, violet and blue colours.

Raphaelesque family Products belonging to this family were characterised by reproduction on their surface of subjects of fresco designed by Raphael for Vatican loggias.

The period from ‘400 to ‘500 was characterised by an exportation of Italian products across Europe. Moreover, Italian makers of majolica themselves emigrated towards various European cities. European sovereigns used to buy majolica products directly from Faenza and Urbino’s shops. Even Spain, in which majolica was born, underwent the influence of Italian style (thanks to the ceramist Francisco Niculoso from Pisa). Until the end of 1600 porcelain remained a prerogative of China, that kept the secret of chemical composition of its mixture. But in Italy it was love at first side for porcelain. It was considered a precious material, incredibly perfect, something strange, nearly magic for its transparency and sonority, but it was rare, so it became a statement of prestige for nobles that possessed it.

During the times there were numerous attempts to reproduce it, but its “recipe” was a real enigma. Also grand duke Francesco I De Medici, an ante litteram alchemist, ventured on attempt to define a technique of production of porcelain. He implanted within the Casino Mediceo (nearby Plaza S. Marco in Venice) a roof factory of the so called “Medicea porcelain”. Only at the beginning of ‘700 the secret of porcelain was revealed to Europe. Numerous factories rose in Italy (Venice, Capodimonte and so on). They on one side produced roof copies of Chinese porcelains, and on the other side developed own styles.

In 1743 Capodimonte Bourbon factory opens and it lives a gold period until 1759, when king Carlo leaves his throne in Naples and moves towards Spain, dismantling his factory and bringing men and things with him.

In Tuscan, in 1735, Carlo Ginori implanted a roof furnace within his villa in Doccia in order to produce the most fashionable material of those times, and in 1737 started his well-known manufacture. In that period porcelain got married with rococo style (luxuriously laid tables for regal banquets, furnishings and decorative ornaments).

From 1750 English earthenware begun its successful period in Italy, due to a spreading Italian fashion to imitate English style. In Faenza, within the Ferniani’s factory, the first Italian production of earthenware was born.

Together with the discovery of earthenware, the application of industrial criteria spread simplifying and speeding production up. This caused a knockoff, due to low costs of transfer print technique.

From XIX to XX century During this period ceramist had re-elaborated styles and tastes belonging to the previous centuries, even if with some important exceptions. Actually, in Italy many cities continue to develop an own style, being well-known all over the world for their ceramics productions.

The Italian cities of Ceramics

When Italy became a united country, tradition of ceramics was affirmed since several centuries, developing different styles strictly linked to each specific city of production. So, in Italy, we have many cities with a very long story of ceramics, producing potteries with particular specific behaviours. A list of all main Italian production sites, organised per region, follows. PIEMONTE

Castellamonte

The antique art of vase making and production of kitchenware and refractory pieces developed in Castellamonte thanks to the availability of excellent quality clay in the surrounding hills. The first proof of this culture dates back to the Salassi times and the subsequent roman conquest of the same (confines, anfors and torches and lights). In the middle ages the churches and the Canavese castles were rich in decorations in Cotto: arches, beams, windows of excellent finishing and valkue were invariably forged from the local clay. In the 4th century there are documents attesting to significant exportation of tiles and cooked clay in particular, containers for oil is revealed in the common existence of two old ovens.

In the fifth century the use of these materials was specialised noble and finely decorated plates. From the skills developed in the previous century the use of cooked clay is still seen today around the main town streets. At the beginning of the sixth century together with the “pignattari” and vase makers that used above all the turntable, another type of clay worker developed, the “terraglieri” that were mainly responsible for the production of refractory bricks and the famous Franklin Stove. The Franklin stove was designed to circulate air with visible flame and was created and manufactured by the Reasso family based on the theories of Benjamin Franklin. The eighth century saw a rapid development in the number of laboratories and craftsmen involved in the ceramic sector, often the same family tradition has been handed down through time to form today’s ceramic artist and artisan producers. The ceramic production was made up of common furning pieces and paving tiles, architectural elements, statues, busts, fireplaces and stoves. In 1870 there were 200 people working in the ceramics sector and at the beginning of the 19th century 15 companies were active. Immediately after the great wars the number of ceramists grew to 315 whilst the earth workers were approximately 20.

LOMBARDIA

Lodi

A tradition in ceramics crafts already existed in Laus Pompeia in the Roman era. Archaeological digs in Laus Pompeia (today’s Lodivecchio) have brought to light ceramic artefacts originating not only from Etruria and Magna Graecia, but also locally, particularly votive statuettes and oil-lamps. The finds are exhibited in the archaeological section of the Municipal Museum. The application of decorated terracotta to architecture became an established part of late medieval Lodi. The renaissance decorations of the Santo Spirito hospital (now the old Hospital) with the terracotta fascias in the small cloister, are amongst the most interesting, as are those of the church of the Incoronata and palazzo Mozzanica, including a portal in the style of Bramante which, with its busts of Francesco I and Bianca Maria Sforza, GianGaleazzo and Isabella d’Aragona, joins with the fascia, adorned with putti, acanthus leaves and vine branches, to underline the relief effect. In15th-century Lodi, production of ceramics for daily use still consisted of slip and sgraffito terracotta, decorated with a simple range of metallic colours in copper green, manganese purple, cobalt blue of various tints, antimony yellow and iron. The designs, depicting popular subjects, were quickly traced out with freshness and originality.

Historical records tell the story of Lodi’s fame for ceramics during the 16th and 17th centuries. From the discovery of numerous lamentations about the high duties on majolica “extracted” (in the language of the period) from the city, it can be deduced that an export market in good-quality products must have existed. Records from 1525 testify to a certain Alberto Catani presenting himself as a “bochalaro” (a producer of jugs) and offering his merchandise to Duke Gonzaga of Mantova for his residence of Marmirolo, describing it as “porcelain”, a term which, however inappropriate, suggests high-quality production. According to records, of an exclusively documentary type, Lodi’s majolica was well-known and much admired in Northern Italy in the 17th century too. The second half of the seventeenth century saw the Coppellotti factory flourishing as one of those kilns in Lodi of which only the fine products from the eighteenth century have been left to posterity. The golden age of majolica in Lodi was the 18th century. Whereas the production of other crafts in Lodi was diminishing, the number of kilns increased from 4 to 5, new decorative techniques (low-heat firing) with those late baroque refinements so widespread on the other side of the Alps were introduced, and trade expanded. The factory which Giovanni Coppellotti set up in 1641 and which continued under the management of sons and grandsons until 1787, is noted for the lightness and the delicate balance of forms as well as decorative originality. Equal meticulousness was shown by the Ferretti factory, set up in 1725 by Simpliciano and managed from the middle of the century by his son Antonio, thanks to whom the renown of Lodi’s ceramics was to reach the stars with the new system of low-heat firing. The most elegant works of majolica, as regards form and decoration, included those of Giorgio Giacinto Rossetti, a ceramist from Piedmont who worked in Lodi between 1729 and 1736, working with the city’s most important factories and subsequently, with his brother Giovanni Battista, opening a factory for a short time in a business relationship with a certain Tavazzi. The blue ornamentation of Delft, very widespread in France due to large scale production in Rouen, is one of the characteristic decorations of Lodi’s high-fire production. With the Coppellottis it attained great refinement, exceeded only by the highly skilled hand of G.G. Rossetti, who often used this ornamentation to frame his famous miniaturist landscapes. The technique of low-heat firing which arrived in Lodi in the factory of Antonio Ferretti after the middle of the 18th century, allowed the introduction of the floral decoration which to this day distinguishes Lodi’s ancient ceramics.

VENETO

Bassano del Grappa

The archaeological excavations at the end of the last century in St. George’s sepulchre in Angarano have brought to light vases for domestic use dated as belonging to the late bronze age, and in the same area a building of the Roman period has been found, for the manufacture of bricks and building terracotta (earthenware) according to iconographic models already codified in Rome that were circulated as drawings on cardboard paper. There is sporadic evidence of a Longobardic production that followed the late medieval imperial, but nothing is known of medieval factories in the Bassano area, although we can suppose there was local production of common vases, while “high quality” ceramics were imported from Constantinople, Corinth and Salonic. The excavations in via Campo Marzio in 1982 brought to light the most ancient majolicas of certain Bassano production: they are fragments of bowls, plates and fruit stands with polychrome glazing in the “Candiana” decoration imitating products from the ancient city of Iznik. These were produced at the end of the 1500s, and the manufactures of the fourteen and fifteen hundreds found on the site where the future Manardi workshop was to be built are evidence of the real birth of the Bassano ceramic tradition. The Manardi production became renowned during period of greatest splendour enjoyed by the Bassano ceramics, that is the 17th century, and precisely for the 50 years after 1669, when the Manardis obtained, from the Senate in Venice, the sole rights to the production of majolica in the entire territory of the Republic.The ceramics of this period are remarkable because of their refined clay body, rich decoration and the glossy shine of the glaze. With additional help from the workforces of Lodi and Faenza, the workshop produced a vast variety of majolica types: vases, jugs, bowls, inkpots, bottles, “sorbetti” (desert dishes), “pignati” (stock pots), “capon” plates (serving trays), saucers, “squelin da caffe” (coffee cups), chamber pots. A specialty of the production is pharmacy jars, pitchers and rochet jars, decorated in plain blue with swift brushstrokes, and with two bands of festoons of flowers and leaves with thin threads above and below, leaving the central area blank for the wording. In 1744 the Manardi workshop closed and the Antonibon di Nove family became important; they started up a new production inventing new types and decorations. Most of their production is represented by utilitarian objects, plates, trays, ice bowls, goblets, etc.; but also of excellent chandeliers, mirror frames, tiles, etc. In particular the company managed to maintain a high quality standard as regards both materials and working in all three production fields: majolica from 1727, porcelain from 1752, English-use crockery from 1786. In the eighteen hundreds the production of less expensive manufactures continued, above all of plates with decorations depicting work in the fields, the seasons, nature, as well as jugs with a personal dedication and the famous crocks (whistling ceramics). The new style in ceramics (majolica and earthenware) for the high classes was called “artistic”, “court” or “neorococò”, and featured the accentuation of the plastic ornamental patterns and pictorial decorations, which covered the surface with scenes of real life and floral motives. The Marcon, Bonato and Passarin workshops opened. The first produces ornamental vases, vegetable and animal shaped soup bowls, figure groups, baskets, household dishes. Antonio Passarin has been producing majolica and earthenware in baroque forms since 1882: table centres, goblets, bowls, mirrors, panels. The decorations are inspired by the works of the great masters of the past, such as Jacopo Bassano or Antonio Canova, as well as contemporary artists. Not until after the war was there a real renewal, originating principally within the Nove Art Institute for Ceramics and from some “young” firms such as that founded in 1921 by Luigi Zortea. The old surviving factories continue their repetitive production, supplying the demand of the foreign markets. Contemporary production is renewed thanks to constant reference to modern artistic currents.

Nove

A ceramics area famous in the world since the eighteenth century. Many different factors have favoured the establishment and the development of ceramics arts in Nove since the eighteenth century. Among these, the presence underground of plastic clay and china clay and the possibility of using the Brenta river both to transfer finished products and wood for kilns and to set in motion, with its hydraulic power, the mills used to mix the bodies and mill the stones found in that same river. In the eighteenth century the growing demand and diffusion in Europe of the precious Chinese porcelain led Dutch ceramists to imitate their manufacturing style, and their products invaded even the markets of Venice. The Venetian senate tried to solve this situation by encouraging domestic production granting tax rebates for those who produced porcelain and managed to improve majolica. That was a favourable moment for Giovanni Battista Antonibon who opened in 1727 in the old house of his father in Nove what would become the most important ceramics factory of the Venetian Republic. In 1732 the Manifattura Antonibon was offered by The Senate the privilege of being exempt from all taxes for twenty years. Pasquale Antonibon, who succeeded his father in the business in 1738, accomplished another important goal in 1762: porcelain production. In that same years (1770) earthenware became widespread in Italy. Earthenware is a type of body that was produced in England already in 1725. This product, thanks to its whiteness and low cost had become an unexpected competitor of Italian majolica and porcelain. Once again the Manifattura Antonibon, led by Giò Maria Baccin, managed in 1768 to obtain a body that was an almost perfect imitation of the English one. In the eighteenth century the growing demand and diffusion in Europe of the precious Chinese porcelain led Dutch ceramists to imitate their manufacturing style and their products invaded even the markets of Venice. The Venetian Senate tried to solve this situation by encouraging domestic production with tax rebates for those who produced porcelain and managed to improve majolica. That was a favourable moment for Giovanni Battista Antonibon who opened in 1727 in the old house of his father in Nove what would become the most important ceramics factory of the Venetian republic. Pasquale Antonibon, who succeeded to his father in the business, accomplished anther important goal in 1762: porcelain production. In 1770 earthenware became widespread in Italy. Earthenware is a type of body that, thanks to its whiteness and low cost had become an unexpected competitor of Italian majolica and porcelain. Once again the Antonibon factory, with Giò Maria Baccin, managed in 1786 to obtain a body that was an almost perfect imitation of the English one. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, despite the serious political and economical crisis, some manufacturing companies from Nove managed to prosper thanks to earthenware. They gave up the luxury production for the now impoverished aristocrats and addressed the large public, and less wealthy people. New subject and techniques were developed for this new customers: this is how popular ceramics was born. Towards 1860-1865 another genre was introduced, called the Artistic or courtly or the new rococo. This genre was perhaps devised for the need to compete with foreign countries at International Exhibitions. In the first years of 1900 the Nove Arts Institute marked the end of the nineteenth century’s heritage and the introduction of the twentieth century style. LIGURIA

Albisola Superiore

The ceramics tradition of Albisola dates back to the 15th century. Perhaps ceramics working was introduced in Albisola by the Benedictines in the 13th century. Maps indicating the location of kilns and dating back to 1569, 1640/41, 1798 were found. Extremely interesting material comes from findings from Roman excavations, in particular a villa decorated with plaster in bright colours and mosaic floors. Other interesting pieces are the majolica and terracotta pieces, both yellow and brown decorated with techs noir from 1700. In the 16th century the production of “laggioni” was flourishing. These were tiles used to cover floors and walls. The production of pots, plates (to cook and handle food) and vases used to contain medicines was also important. In the second half of 1800 a new type of terracotta was created, the so called yellow painted “terracotta ingobbiata”, used to make devotional statuettes and statuettes for the crib in particular. A curious remark: already in the 17th century the products were branded with the trademark “Le Marche”. From 1569 (year checked at the land registry office) there were many furnaces and a couple of colour mills on the area, and during all the 600 the sky blue monochromatic production became very widespread. The success went on until the second half of 1700. The following years until the beginning of the new century were years of crisis, when the production was drastically reduced and limited almost exclusively to the production of simply decorated and white jugs. The new “plumbiferous” paint, suitable for the production of pots and pans for cooking, gave a new strength to the market. The production of majolica started again at the beginning of ‘900 thanks to futurism.

Albissola Marina

The majolica of Albissola: the triumph of light blue. The most ancient finds, dating back to the end of the 15th Century, were discovered between the remains of a combustion structure excavated by the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Liguria (Ligurian Archaeological Superintendence) in the centre of Albissola Marina in 1990. The ceramics production of Albissola has a twofold character. On the one hand we find the terracotta “ingobbiata” (covered with yellow paint) and engraved, plates, bowls and pots addressed to lower social classes, on the other hand the most refined majolica which was produced for high classes and was initially polychrome. In addition, the production of “laggioni” (tiles for floors and walls) or glazed tiles. We also record a remarkable development in the production of glazed objects covered with blue paint and decorated with vegetable or geometrical patterns, or with drawings representing animals and boats, as it turns out from an excavation dating back to 1933. As far as glazed tiles are concerned, which were produced in many countries such as Spain France and the Dukedom of Parma by ceramists coming from Albissola, the town can boast two remarkable works of art. The most ancient one is a panel painted on August, 28 1554 by Giovanni Giacomo Sciaccarama from Albissola Marina for the Ospedale di San Nicolò (San Nicolò Hospital) of Albisola Superiore. The second one is the altarpiece representing the Adorazione dei Pastori (Worship of Shepherds) with San Benedetto and S. Antonio abbé, painted by Gironimo Tommasi da Urbino in 1576 and moulded by Agostino Isola from Albissola for the Cappella dell’Arte dei Figuli (Potter Art Chapel) in the destroyed church of Sant’Antonio and which is now kept in the parish church of N. S. della Concordia. During the 16th Century Albissola experienced a flourishing production of white and “berettino” (light blue) glazed plates, bowls and pots. White glazed objects were usually decorated with stylised vegetable patterns, often portraying the front or side view of an open palm leave, within geometrical frames. The development of the light blue monochrome majolica which is the highest expression of the ceramic art in Albissola and Savona dates back to the period in which the ceramists of Albissola Marina started to rebuild the kilns destroyed by the sea between the end of the 16th Century and the beginning of the 17th Century. The style of this kind of majolica was defined by some scholars as minutely-finished and naturalistic, upholstery-like, decorated with historical scenes or baroque scene- painting (the first two expressions have a clear oriental origin, the last one is inspired by contemporary Ligurian painting). The 1641 land register recorded 24 kilns in which artists used to label their products with “trademarks” such as a lantern for Grosso, a fish for Pescio, a crown for Conrado and many others which still have to be identified. At the end of the 18th Century the kilns in Albissola Marina grew up to 32, but the majolica production started to decrease and stopped facing the development of a new kind of terracotta, the so called taches noires (a kind of terracotta painted brown). The majolica production developed again only at the end of the 19th Century, starting to imitate the ancient style and getting inspired by new styles such as liberty and art- déco. In the 1920’s and 30’s the ceramic tradition of Albissola experienced a new flourishing getting inspiration by futurism and thanks to charismatic personalities like Tullio d’Albisola, who summoned a large group of qualified Italian and foreign artists (he died in 1972). Today Albisola still represents an appealing centre for many artists. Some of them reside in the town, some others periodically spend training periods in the various local workshops.

EMILIA ROMAGNA

Faenza

Faenza’s workshops were a fundamental reference point for ceramics already five centuries ago. The art of ceramics in Faenza boasts a centuries-old tradition and is still very important today, as it represents both handicrafts and industry. The town became an extremely important ceramics area already in the Middle Ages, thanks to its soil rich in clays that could be easily shaped, and also thanks to its geographical position, as Faenza is sort of a point of contact between the Po valley and the Tuscan cultures. Between the end of 400 and the beginning of 500, the majolica made in Faenza gradually abandoned the gothic and oriental subjects that had in part characterised the late medieval production and the production of the beginning of the Renaissance, and took on a genuinely Italian style. Later on, thanks to an increased cultural openness and to the closer links between majolica workers and canvas painters, the heraldic and decorative character of the production gave way to an increasingly sincere and individual representation of the human figure, starting a new trend that, for its narrative taste, is called “illustrated”. At the beginning of the second half of the 16th century, majolica makers, who had already reached very high decorative skills, felt the need to change completely the style of their products, creating the so called “white” ceramics. As well as the usual shapes, new objects appeared, with extravagant and blurred shapes and with simple decorations characterised by a sketch-like manufacture, therefore called “abridged” style. The Faenza products are so famous that majolica is known in the world with the French name Faience. Since the end of the 600 the “factory” of the Counts Ferniani became not only the engine of new fashions, but also the engine of new technologies such as the “low flame” technique or the adoption of a new ceramics product invented in England: earthenware, that was used in 1778 by skilled sculptors like Giulio Tomba, Antonio Trentanove and others, for the creation of groups of sculptures and full relief sculptures with mythological subjects. The town began to flourish thanks to its agricultural tradition and to the development of industrial activities such as the production of ceramics, brick-works, and linen textiles. After a period of decadence that lasted from the 2nd century to the beginning of the Middle Ages, in the 8th century it started to prosper again. At the end of the century new and delicate decorations like vine leaves, swags and acorns appeared on table sets. These decorations were placed on objects with simple and linear shapes that testify the passage of the neo-classical taste.In the 19th century, instead, the old masters’ techniques were once again recovered, as well as the classical subjects of the Faenza majolica of 500, in particular the Raffaello – style representations. This century’s Faenza workshops that have inherited the old arts of ceramics, are carrying out new experiences. They are at the same time training centres and promotion centres and, also thanks to the active participation of prestigious schools and museums, they allow the ongoing renewal of the arts and crafts heritage.

TOSCANA

Sesto Fiorentino

Since the fifth millennium BC ceramics objects have been manufactured in Sesto. Recent archaeological excavations in the Sesto area led to finding engraved- lines ceramics and square-mouth ceramics dating back to the end of the 5th millennium BC. The first stages of the copper age were characterised by rough surface ceramics, decorated with flakes and streaks. Then, furrow decorations were introduced. At the end of the third millennium the culture of the so-called “bell-shaped” glass became widespread. The history of modern Sesto ceramics started in 1737 with the manufacturing company Manifattura Ginori, that was founded by the marquis Carlo Ginori. In the following decades the company constantly expanded its production structure (in 1774 it employed more than 100 workers). It produced majolica and artistically precious ceramics, that made it become famous all-around Europe. The artisan characteristic of the production did not change for a long time. Only in the last four decades of the nineteenth century the company introduced the industrial production. The number of employees and the number of pieces produced gradually grew until they reached respectively 1,400 workers and 4 million pieces. Still, the artistic quality of the production remained very high. The company obtained success at many International exhibitions presenting the best of its production: from the precious vases of “eggshell” fine porcelain to majolica drawings on sixteenth- century patterns, to ordinary kitchenware and products for industries. When the Richard group bought the company (in 1896), its industrial expansion increased further. However, artistic production continued to be and important part of the company’s activity. In the liberty age Richard- Ginori produced very valuable works. In the 20es and 30es of the twentieth century the innovative production line designed by Gio Ponti imposed new stylistic standards in the sector of artistic handicrafts. The co-operation between designers and productive structures became very common in the following decades. Still today some of the best Italian designers work for companies of the Sesto area. Between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century the first artisan manufacturing companies were often founded by former painters or modellers from the Manifattura Ginori. They were people who, either voluntarily or not, had left the factory at a time when the production of art objects, especially of majolica, was being curtailed. Around 1891 the Colonnata Ceramics Society was founded, while around 1896 the Industrial Society for the production of Artistic Ceramics was set up and at the beginning of the twentieth century taken over by one of the founder members, Egisto Fantechi. During the first fifteen years of the twentieth century, the Federal Ceramics Co- operative, the Manufacturing company Manifattura Ernesto Conti and the company Ceramica Artistica Alfredo Ciulli were set up. Other artisan companies were set up in the 20es: Barraud & Messeri, Carraresi e Lucchesi, Manifattura Alma, S.A.C.A. On the eve of the first world war there were about thirty artisan manufacturing companies. Some of them kept working according to the stylistic standards that were typical of the end of the nineteenth century, while other companies were inspired by contemporary trends, especially by the fundamental innovation introduced in the 20es and 30es by Gio Ponti in the Sesto ceramics. However, the greatest developments of handicraft production took place after the second world war and coincided once again with a moment of crisis and transformation of the company Richard-Ginori. At the moment, in the Sesto area there are about 100 companies that carry on an old tradition.

Montelupo Fiorentino

From the Middle Ages to Renaissance, Montelupo’s ceramics in the pages of Florentine history. It was the strategic geographical location of the town and the abundance of water, clay and woods in the nearby area that favoured the development of pottery production in Montelupo. Ceramics production soon became the main activity of the town but it was only in the 14th century that Montelupo started developing so that from 1490 to 1540 it turned into one of the most important ceramics centres in the area of the Mediterranean sea. It was at the beginning of the 15th century, at the time of the production of archaic majolica and green and brown decorated pots, that a series of events, first of all the rapid and tumultuous growth of Florence as a commercial power, favoured the development of a vaster network of commitments, the evolution of technologies and an increase of the refinement of taste. The first luxury articles appeared (like relief zaffre) recalling Arab traditions and imitating or reinterpreting the prestigious glazed pottery from Spain, following the new Renaissance dictates in terms of colours and decoration. The series which bear witness of Montelupo’s golden age date back to that period: gothic flowers, the eye in peacock’s feathers, the Persian palmette. In 1490 Francesco Antinori, a rich Florentine merchant, bought the entire production of 23 potters from Montelupo and kept selling the works at bargained prices for three years. Thanks to the far-sightedness and to the financial resources of the new Florentine rich men, Montelupo’s manufactures started being renowned all over the world, from Mediterranean ports to Holland and England. From the second half of the 16th century and during the 17th century Montelupo’s production acquired a twofold character: on the one hand wonderful and more cultured artistic productions addressed to rich Florentine purchasers, such as the vases for Santa Maria Novella and the floorings for Maria de Medici, on the other hand several cheaper and simpler folk productions. This was the period of the “Arlecchini” (“Harlequins”), a fresh and genuine folk style deriving from a more cultured one. Everyday life scenes, dreams, priests, brigands, musicians, warriors, women and knights started being represented. The slow stylistic decadence that had begun in the 17th century became then irreversible. The decline of Florence as a commercial power, the decrease in the number of commitments and the introduction of earthenware brought to a break in the majolica production which lasted until the beginning of the 20th century. However the craft of the ceramist was never neglected. For 150 years Montelupo kept producing big amounts of terracotta items such as kitchen pots, braziers, pitchers. The old craft kept being carried on by ceramists, unpretentious decorators and kiln men. It was only with the economic revival of the Italian kingdom that a new development took finally place (achieving the prosperity the region is still enjoying). The 20th century was characterised by a new increase in the production of majolica and by a trend towards innovative solutions from design schools. Workshops like Fanciullacci, Mancioli and Bitossi turned into remarkable production centres. Today there are about 90 firms and manufactories which operate in this area and produce mainly household goods ranging from Renaissance reproductions to innovative tradition items, from terracotta to trendy products.

Impruneta

The terracotta’s art is a primary element of Impruneta’s cultural identity. The fragility of terracotta, with the small value don’t tickle the conservation, this is the reason because there are little surviving materials. The earthenware of 300 and 400 was lost; was kept a big number of pitchers of that period; this is caused by the improper use. This was used on the filling of architecture vault. A big number of this pitchers was recently found; sometimes they were used as containers, sometimes they were destined to architecture for imperfection of production. The manufactures of Impruneta’s area brought, until Renaissance, the terracotta’s manufacturing to an high quality; so the commercial relationship with Firenze became more intense. All this happen because of the clay’s quality, very strong, the art of artisans, and the town’s placement located in the way between Firenze and Arezzo, way that linked up the most important commercial centres. A document of 1308 tells us that in the area of S. Maria Impruneta was done a corporation of “terracotta’s teachers” pitchers. Terracotta’s art achieved the best results in renaissance period; vases, little columns, trophies, armorial bearings became always more used in equipment of gardens and villas. Then there are a lot of Maria’s devotional tabernacles located in way’s crossing; their manufacture was one of the best artistic activity of Impruneta’ s teachers. MARCHE

Pesaro

Pesaro boasts an antique ceramic tradition. Pesaro boasts an antique ceramic tradition. The art of earth and fire in Pesaro dates back to the thirteenth century. From the second half of the Fourteenth century Pesaro became one of the centres of artistic ceramics with great influence and importance. Vast documentation and information attest to the large number of vases and shops with an intense commercial activity coupled with conspicuous production facilities. Its importance was recognised and appreciated as seen by the prizes and awards conferred. The testimonials left in 1486 by Sforza d’Arogona, Lord of Pesaro confirmed its position to foreign countries and thanks to the same the pesaro style of majolica was widely introduced in all the Italian aristocratic courts. Around 1540, thanks to the shop of Lanfranco of Gabicce, the famous historical production was completed that later rendered the Duke of Urbino famous. In addition to this type of decoration all the themes of the moment “of the "alla porcellana”, “alle verdure”, “a trofei”, “a paesi”, “a compendiario” were created. This confirmed the high value of Pesaro’s artistic heritage culminating in 1552 with Guidubaldo II of the wood, the Duke of Urbino’s proclamation to have “discovered real gold in clay vases”.

Urbania

“… and the small table was ready for tea, with majolica cups and coasters from Casteldurante, ancient shapes of unequalled grace…” [passage from Gabriele D’Annunzio’s “Il Piacere”, book I, edited by the translator] The true history of ceramics in the Marches has not been recorded yet, but it is clear that a ceramic production was present in Urbania since the Middle Ages, as it is proved by the series of fragments found during the excavation works and by the documents filed in the local archive (in 1361 a family of pottery craftsmen is mentioned). By the end of 1300 quality products started to be generated through the modern majolica technique. This kind of art developed on a fertile ground: the clay was found in the area of the river Metauro, then there was plenty of wood and metallic oxide for the colours on the site (copper-iron-manganese), whereas tin and zaffre (blue) came through the Via Flaminia. From the initial subordination to the typical shapes of Faenza, the indigenous artists evolved their own decorations, such as the module representing a leaf (from the Della Rovere’s crest) or showing the historiated style. Ceramics based on the historiated technique inspired by mythology, by the Scriptures and by the classical antiquity, started to grow under the Montefeltro-Della Rovere family since the first half of 1400, reaching an enormous graphic value in the wake of Raffaello’s style. Toward the end of 1500, in the area of Durante, the most beautiful Renaissance majolica works of art were produced: about 150 artists producing majolica and 40 workshops point to the historic and economic importance of ceramics. The precious smalti blend creating blue, yellow and refined white perspectives. In 1500 the contamination among great artists. In this regard, suffice it to remember the following prominent personalities: the legendary Zoan Maria (his beautiful cup dedicated to Pope Giulio II, elevating the quality of the local production on a par with the most noteworthy centres); Simone da Colonnello, Sebastiano Marforio, Andrea da Negroponte, the Picchi and the Fontana, two families of remarkable shapers and painters who produced unsurpassed decorations and figures. Here, Cipriano Piccolpasso was born, a great writer of treatises on ceramics who in 1548 wrote “Li tre libri dell’arte del vasaio”, where he disclosed the secrets of this profession. Various masters have left their homeland in order to spread their artistry. In 1600 and 1700 the tradition in Urbania - no longer Casteldurante since 1636 – was revitalized by artists among whom Ippolito Rombaldoni (his amphora are well-known), the Amantini, the Doix and the Mordioni families are featured. It was the period when ceramics was found only in limited circles: in 1700 the three pottery workshops Bartolucci, Rigucci and Luzi were renowned. In 1800 the Albani family revived the ancient art with antique pottery, and at the turn of the century the Piccini family continued this tradition. In the first decades of 1900 the Letizia family produced excellent ceramics, whereas the Rigucci family created artefacts for common use. In 1944 Federico Melis promoted a school of ceramics in the “Ceramica Metauro” workshop; then, together with Corrado Leonardi, he established “La Piccolpasso”, a mine of artists and finally, in the 60’s, the workshops reopened. The Municipality has been organizing initiatives since 1982 and even the Diocesan Museum was inaugurated. In 1994 Urbania was acknowledged as the one and only Town of Ceramics in the Marches and the Association “Ceramics Friends” was constituted. Now a tourist enhancement is also being confirmed by new workshops, courses and exhibitions which go so far as the European Parliament.

UMBRIA

Gubbio

Since the 16th century the glories of Mastro Giorgio have made Gubbio famous throughout the world. The most ancient ceramics products date back to Neolithic times (6th-5th millennia BC). Evidence of activity in the Bronze and Iron Ages, and especially the Roman era have also come to light: a workshop in which attempts were also made at producing terra sigillata, has been identified in the locality of Vittorina. The production of ceramics, recorded since the 12th century, developed rapidly from the beginning of the second half of the 15th century. Numerous masters from other areas (Siena, Norcia, Borgo Sansepolcro, Teramo etc.) arrived with their contrasting experiences to join the local potters. Amongst those potters at work in the last part of the 15th century, a prominent role was assumed by the head of a prestigious local workshop, Giacomo di Paoluccio, with whom the Salimbebe brothers, Giovanni and Giorgio Andreoli, originally from Intra on Lake Maggiore, formed an association. In this period the renown of Gubbio’s ceramics was connected with the red, silver and gold lustre obtained in a third firing according to the Arab technique systematized by Piccolpasso (called “majolica” and now known as “paste lustre” or “metallic lustre”). Already in 1495 – and even more evidently in 1501 – Giacomo di Paoluccio and the Andreolis were producing burnished ceramics, presumably like those from Deruta but enhanced by an intense ruby red lustre. The oldest surviving examples date back to the second decade of the 16th century, the period which saw the beginning of the series of majolica works marked or signed by Mastro Giorgio, who died in the spring of 1554. During the 16th century, burnished ceramics were produced by other potters active in Gubbio, some of whom came into contact with Mastro Giorgio: Traversi; Floris; Giovanni Maria, Bartolomeo and Vincenzo Cattani, sons of Giovanni, the brother of Mastro Giorgio. The production and quality of ceramics in Gubbio declined between the 17th and 18th centuries. It seems, at any rate, that the local majolica, ever since the “compendiario” style (a term deriving from an ancient Roman rapid brushwork technique), had gone back to the traditions of the Adriatic regions, as well as models deriving from Deruta. This wavering between types associated with Umbria and The Marches remained the salient feature of production in Gubbio during the 17th century. Scattered evidence relating to the first half of the 18th century shows that Gubbio continued to produce decorated ceramics, including the design of blue leaves on an azure background. Archive documents, however, testify to the existence of local factories producing Red Majolica and White Majolica in the second quarter of the 18th century. Between 1856 and 1857 the rediscovery of metallic burnishes on the part of workshops in Gubbio was made official thanks to Angelico Fabbri and Luigi Carocci, who conducted experiments and obtained gratifying results in this field. The refinement of Gubbio burnishes took place after about 1865 in the workshop directed by Giovanni Spinaci, who seems to have learnt the secret of the process from Carocci. From the beginning of the 1880s the ceramics workshop of Antonio Passalboni was also active, producing characteristic plates with intense burnishes and delicate relief decorations. Reflecting majolica and, especially, polychromatic majolica, were painstakingly decorated until the beginning of the 20th century by Giuseppe Magni, long-time teacher of design in Gubbio’s technical schools. From the beginning of the 1920s numerous factories were opened, including Vasellari Eugubini, directed by Ilario Ciaurro, and Polidoro Benveduti’s Fabbrica Majoliche Mastro Giorgio, in which experiments were made with the boccaro technique. This is the period in which Aldo Ajò (whose highly original style was imitated by pupils and followers) and other able ceramists from Gubbio (Baffoni, Cavicchi, Faravelli, Monarchi, Notari, the Rossi brothers, etc.) gained their first experience in the field of ceramics. The civic statute of 1338 approved the art of pottery (ars vasariorum et figulorum) along with other arts. It should be added, however, that in the same statute the arts were ordered to leave the market open to competition, the order being confirmed in the statute of 1624. As early as 1326 the potter’s art was represented in the town council by its own leader, a figure who, however, was deprived of all elective power from the beginning of the 16th century. Records of this representation exist up until 1406, whilst the town council’s confirmation of the order relating to potters, now sadly lost, dates back to 1520. We also know of a protectionist measure adopted in 1456 to benefit the art, a clear sign of its considerable economic importance. Similar provisions were made during the 18th century. Just before Italian unification the Papal government issued a franchise to the Fabbri-Carocci firm for the production of metal burnishes.

Gualdo Tadino

Ceramics: Gualdo’s economic driving force down the centuries. The numerous clay pits have stimulated the production of terracotta since prehistoric times; traces of majolica and earthenware production have been found in the archaeological area of Colle dei Mori. New factories were built year after year, creating the basis of the future economic infrastructure of Gualdo Tadino which, situated along the Flaminian Way, has exploited the communication routes for the marketing of its products. Majolica appears to have been established in Gualdo ever since the 14th century, as the many fragments of “green majolica” discovered here and there in the historical centre bear out. In the fourteenth century (1361) the Sacro Convento in Assisi was supplied with ceramics for the festival of Forgiveness by a certain Angelo da Gualdo. Forms and decorations of this period belong to the ancient morphologies associated with Orvieto, Todi, Deruta, and Gubbio. By the fifteenth century, such was the renown of Gualdo’s majolica, in terms of quality and commerce, that in 1456 an order was passed by the Deputies of Gubbio, as an exceptional measure, permitting the sale of the prized jars and pots on the streets of the town for the whole year. In the 17th century one of Gualdo’s ceramists received from the Pope the “privilege” of applying gold to ceramics by means of a never-before used technique; in 1864 burnished plates from Gualdo were present in the Louvre, where they were studied by Darcel. The nineteenth century saw an expansion of factories producing vases in coloured clays, but it was especially characterised by a phenomenon which was to establish the renown of Gualdo throughout the world; the revival of the metallic lustre technique. It was the beginning of a success which was to distinguish a good part of the twentieth century. The history of metallic reflections was and still is one of the most fascinating and mysterious of all ceramics traditions. It seems to have begun and then developed in both Persia and Mesopotamia at the same time, during the 9th century. It spread with the Islamic conquests throughout the whole of northern Africa and also in Spain, arriving later in Italy around 1500. After the final glories of the seventeenth century, this type of ceramic disappeared and only in 1873 did Pesaro ceramist Paolo Bubboli set up in Gualdo Tadino production of high-quality reflecting majolica, reintroducing into the area a technique which had disappeared for nearly four hundred years. Ceramics currently represent Gualdo’s most important area of economic activity, with about 1300 people active in 60 workshops and factories, producing polychromatic and burnished manufactures and including workers who are remarkable for their use of the potter’s wheel, as well as unforgettable decorators and modellers. Important manufacturers of mass-produced crockery and industrial paving materials are also active. A permanent exhibition illustrating production can be seen at the Umbria Ceramics Centre and the Municipal Museum at the “Flea” Fortress.

Deruta

Seven - hundred years of majolica. The first settlements were favoured by the abundance of clay deposits in the area surrounding Deruta and by its geographical position, close to important lines of communication. The production, in the so-called “archaic” age, between the 13th and the 14th century, was mostly made up of objects for domestic use such as plates, jugs, and pourers made with the potter’s wheel in one working only. These objects were decorated with geometrical or floral patterns and sometimes with zoomorphic patterns, coloured with copper green and manganese brown on a grey-white background and covered with tin-based glaze. During the fifteenth century shapes developed thanks to the refinement of the potter’s wheel technique and to decorations with the new colours yellow, blue and orange. Objects increasingly took up a decorative function. Changes in shapes were accompanied by more complex decorative patterns. The production of albarello ribbons for pharmaceutical use date back to this period, as well as vases with twisted handles often carrying the effigy of noble families from Umbria. War scenes, scenes representing hunting, love subjects and allegorical subjects and heraldic symbols were represented on important “pompous” plates. Since the second half of the fifteenth century, under the influence of the neo-classical cultural revival and thanks to the immigration of potters coming from other towns, the Deruta production was enriched further with new shapes, decorations and techniques. In this period the dominant technique was the refined “gloss” technique of oriental origins that was used to give ceramics metal, gold or ruby reflections with iridescent shades. All European courts required the Deruta Renaissance ceramics.

Orvieto

Few towns have a millenary ceramics tradition like Orvieto has. Ceramics tradition in Orvieto began with the first millenary settlements and accompanied the cliff’s inhabitants reflecting in its production the town’s history, with its alternate phases of highest splendour or decadence. Orvieto was first an important town of inner Etruria, and later a dominating city-state on the borders of Medieval Tuscia, and ceramics handicraft in that two periods reached unequalled artistic levels, giving Orvieto an important place in the history of ceramics. During the Etrurian age in Orvieto they experimented, introducing some innovation, all the most ancient ceramics techniques, from the various types of bucchero in elegant shapes enriched by elaborate “ cylinder” decorations, to ceramics painted with red or black figures, to the so-called “silver-plated” ones, imitating the objects in embossed metal. But the product that gave the most relevant results from an artistic point of view was the polychrome architectonic terracotta, that is considered to be the real artwork of all the Etrurian art. In medieval age the production of painted and glazed ceramics that came before the introduction of glazes and before the great artistic development of archaic majolica dates back to the end of the 12th century. The adoption of a “reticule” background painting, complementary to geometrical or fanciful drawings on glazed background, gave an evident depth to painted surfaces, while the practice of using relief applications on some enclosed shapes of figurative or symbolic elements realistically enriched the limited tridimensionality given by the potter’s wheel. For the aesthetic search that Orvieto ceramists applied to the first Italian majolica –participating in the artistic processes that were being developed on the big cathedral’s yard for which they made the mosaics for the façade – the production reached a high qualitative level, so much that the so-called “Orvieto style” became widespread in many Italian medieval town were there was some sort of ceramics activity. Between the end of the 13th and the middle of the 14th century, Orvieto potters, mastering the new techniques, creatively developed their expressive potential renovating the variety of shapes not only of decorative structures, but also of the decorative criteria. Given that ceramics arts in Orvieto was particularly developed in ancient ages, such as the Etrurian and the Medieval age, its rediscovery was inevitably linked to archaeological research. In the second half of the nineteenth century, indeed, the excavations to bring back to light Etrurian temples and necropolis began and the interest in all ceramics materials buried underground and in graves grew considerably. Similarly, in the first years of the twentieth century special underground deposits were unexpectedly found: in many “butti” that had been dug under medieval houses, a large amount of ceramics fragments from the 12th-17th century were found. In most cases the ceramics findings could be totally reconstructed. The restless emptying of the “butti” became a profitable activity for antique dealers and documented an Orvieto production of archaic majolica that was completely unknown at the time. The most important world museums easily obtained some exemplars. Only a minimal part of the material taken from the “butti” remained property of the town, but the “discovery” of the archaic Orvieto majolica and the awareness of its importance were an extraordinary incentive for the rebirth and the launch of the production. In 1919, with the proposal of revisiting medieval ceramics, the Art Arte dei Vascellari of Orvieto was founded, while in the following decades Ilario Ciaurro, with his renovation work, consolidated the tradition to which Orvieto artisan workshops still refer today. LAZIO

Civita Castellana

The earliest evidence of the art of ceramics in Falerii Veteres, dates back to the 10th century BC. Civita Castellana, on the slopes of Monte Soratte, in northern Lazio, is built upon a mass of tufa: the clays in this area, rich in aluminium silicates, as well as lime and iron, established the art of ceramics from as early as the 10th century BC. Archaeological investigation of the burial grounds of Faleri, Celle, Monterone, Scasato, Penna, Valsiarosa, Colonnette and Cappuccini has unearthed an enormous quantity of vase material which not only demonstrates the presence of a thriving industry of artistic ceramics in our land in an earlier epoch but also shows how it has changed over the course of time. The technique of coarsely producing so-called “paste” vases slowly developed into one which allowed the manufacture of products imitating oriental art. Towards the middle of the 7th century BC Proto-Corinthian vases replaced Italo- Geometric vases. From the beginning of the 6th century BC a new commercial trend emerged: Attic ceramics. Attic commerce in Etruria and the region around Falerii Veteres lasted about two centuries. At the beginning of the 3rd century BC an art of local imitation flourished, with its own distinctive characteristics in both decorative technique and certain forms of crockery. Ceramic activity was abandoned when the Roman Empire collapsed. Only from the beginning of the 10th century did traces of production begin to re-emerge. Greater production began towards the 12th century. By the 13th century ceramics were being covered with a stanniferous glaze. This technique was replaced by tin-only glazes in the 14th century. In the 15th and 16th centuries production increased and drew inspiration for decoration from the best known centres: Faenza and Deruta. In the 17th century too, contemporary fashion inspired decoration and form. In the 18th century other products in majolica and white earthenware more or less successfully took over in Civita’s workshops. At the beginning of the 20th century A. Coramusi developed in the town a branch of the industry in sanitary products. Crockery factories followed. The “Polo Industriale” (industrial area) formed, extending to neighbouring towns with all the characteristics of the area. ABRUZZO

Castelli

A voyage from the “Orsini Colonna” collection to the “Cielo maiolicato di San Donato” to the barocco splendour of the Castellana territory. Ancient ceramic remnants have been discovered in the Castelli area some time ago and the same testify to an age old ceramic tradition that explains the reason the subsequent production sites. In the middle ages there are signs of kitchen ware objects and the first small inhabited centres. Many historical researchers believe the Benedict abbey of San Salvatore played a significant part in this era as did similar structures in the same time period. Excavations made around Pompei area have documented evidence of the existence of a ceramic production site in the pre-renaissance period: majolica, and glazed and ingobbiate pieces have been found. Between the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century the Castellana area had a discreet ceramics turnover and built cultural and economical links with the other centres of ceramics of Faenza and Naples. In the first 30 years of the century the “ingobbiata and graffita” style was abandoned in order to follow the Pompei market dictates that demanded original forms and style and not simply imitations of other styles. The most well known local work of the time was the “Madonna che allatta il bambino” that became famous throughout Europe and launched the career of the artist Orazio Pompei in 1551. In 1989 the exhibition “Le maioliche cinquecentesche di Castelli” held in Pescara recognised the towns tradition through the restitution of the Orsini Colonna, the same being attributed to the shops of Pompei. The most extraordinary majolica monument of Castelli as defined by Carlo Levi is the “Sistina della Maiolica Italiana” and is the ceiling of the church of San Donato. Dating back to 1615-1617 this represents a real development in the local ceramics tradition and signalled the trend throughout the 16th century of splendour. The denomination maijolica castellana entered into the national ceramics culture and made famous the small Abruzzo town. These ceramics were in fact produced by only two dynasties; the Grue dynasty and the Gentile dynasty and through these centres the styles were adopted by other artists and ceramists in the surrounding areas such as Capalletti, and De Martinis, Fraticelli, Guerrieri, Pardi and Fuina. The last great master of the castellana maijolica was Gesualdo Fuina, 1755-1822, that transformed the barocco style into aulic style influenced by the new taste porcelain. The artist in fact used in his works oriental suggestive images and colours such as the bright red. His figures are based on a completely white background and his vases are often gold bordered. In the 18th century, due to the strong competition of porcelain, produced in industrial fashion and therefore with commercial and productive volumes, the artistic message of castelli, with the traditional artisan laboratory and its artistic and technical base, almost disappeared. In order to avoid this a school to train and teach young local aspiring ceramists and designers was proposed. After the first attempt failed in 1847 the “Scuole d’arte applicata alla Ceramica” was founded in 1906 and in 1960 became the “Istituto Statale d’arte per la ceramica F. Grue”. Since then the authorities have worked hard to preserve the local tradition and artistic- historical culture and the results have been felt with the creation of numerous factories, handicraft and artisan businesses that propose a wide variety of styles and forms from the remakes of the 15th and 16th century shapes to more contemporary works.

CAMPANIA

Cerreto Sannita

The manipulation of clay was born when man was born, to satisfy men’s existential needs. The first pieces of archaic ceramics we know of date back to the 14th century and are a stoup decorated with the profile of St. Catherine with the wheel; a Crib and a stoup with a yellow monstrance from the 15th century, another stoup with the image of saint Anthony the abbot, from the 16th century; ceramics with coat of arms, among which there is a plate of the abbess Mazzacane. The first decades of the eighteenth century represented the golden age of the ceramics of Cerreto, when the old industries and artisan workshops revived. The workshops of “figulina” ceramics were set up in those years thanks to the feudatory Marzio Carafa . One of the first and most important kilns was the one built by the Neapolitan master Nicolò Russo in the home of the great Francesco Mastracchio. It was thanks to great masters, like the above-mentioned Russo and Giustiniani, that the School of the Cerreto majolica was created. The Fraenza, The Festa, the Marchitto and the Di Leone were real dynasties of ceramists, whose creations were exported everywhere all round the South of Italy. When the kitchenware industry was already well known, new ceramics expressive forms were being experimented, in particular the idea of harmoniously combining majolica with plastic decorations and with the architecture of buildings. The figulina arts in Cerreto became more important between the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the age of the lively Neapolitan baroque. In the seventeenth century Cerreto ceramics was either characterised by the influence of the Faenza whites or it freely interpreted artistic schemes in a chromatics range that went from yellow to green and to saffron blue, while in the middle of the eighteenth century, the turquoise light and shades and cobalt blue, especially on chemist’s vases, became widespread. With the rococo, Cerreto ceramics became characterised by bright chromatic combinations on chinese-style patterns and on floral patterns, while the brown-purple monochrome on grey glazes established itself thanks to the French influence. The last stage of Cerreto ceramics was characterised by the return of old styles’ imitation, by decorations with neo-classical ornaments. Products from this last stage can be found almost everywhere: on walls, in homes, in churches, in ceramics museums. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the glorious faience workshops were closing one by one and they re-opened only at the beginning of 1970 when new and nostalgic masters, immersing themselves again into the original sources of figulina arts, gave way once again to that fascinating and courageous adventure of Southern Italy arts that was and is: Cerreto ceramics.

San Lorenzello

In November 1988, a surface survey was carried out to bring to light nineteenth-century floors of buildings that were being restructured near the rivers of the Titerno stream. During this survey ceramics fragments were found: the colours were well-kept, but there were some defects in the shapes and colours. They were eighteenth- century kiln rejects coming, as was ascertained later, from the tank of a “faenzera” situated in Giustiniani street and emptied in those days. The first eighteenth-century artisan workshops, the activities of which is recorded in the ounce catalogue of 1754, were owned by Angelo Di Clemente (potter), Simone Giustiniano (specialised in the production of clay vases) and Anastasio Festa, faience maker and owner of a 6-room workshop in the “Ai piè della terra” area, where he worked with his brothers Marcello, Lorenzo, and Guglielmo, who were the wealthiest ceramists from San Lorenzello. The eighteenth century ceramics production covered archaic and popular objects but also stately objects or parade objects “in the faience style”, with decorations with religious, naturalistic and allegorical subjects as well as landscapes. The colours were the typical ones: deep yellow, copper green, orange, manganese, in the range from black to dark brown. There is a well-kept panel by Antonio Giustiniano, signed in Latin and set in the tympanum of the portal of the SS Maria della Sanità Congregation. Ceramics activities are still flourishing in San Lorenzello and there are many figulina artisans who continue the glorious tradition with great mastery and inspiration arousing great interest in Italian and foreign scholars and connoisseurs.

Ariano Irpino

Born in the tufo Cave: an 800 year old tradition. An ancient roman kiln was discovered (small village of Figoli) and Byzantine ceramic fragments, testify to an ancient ceramic tradition. Works from the 13th ad 14th century are similar to Islamic derived ceramics found in the church of S. Lorenzo Maggiore of Naples. The pieces were not imported from the Arab states but produced in Naples seen by the fact that some pieces of vases and cups were produced by local ceramic artists that had learnt and applied techniques from the Greek-roman age of glass working, perfected in the southern area thanks to the Byzantine ad Islamic influences following the Spanish conquest of Sicily. Since the 13th century figolian people have made a corporation to bind the skills of master craftsmen that worked, lived and died in the caves of paste and clay. Around 1421, Francesco Sforza, count of Ariano d future duke of Milan, brought the masters from Faenza to Ariano to provide new creative impulse to the local manufacture of ceramics. In the 14th century local ceramic production was synonymous with three names; Giovanni de Paulo de Milotta (o Bilotta), Vincenzo de Vitto and Vincenzo Marraffino. Up until the end of the 16th century the local production of the Bilotta family was well known. The Napoleonic census of 1813 attests to over 20 active ceramists. The successive years with the natural disasters that saw the destruction of the firing hills created a crisis in the sector that lasted centuries up until the middle of the last century. By the end of the 1970’s the ceramic tradition had experienced a comeback with results on national and international level. Craftsmen from Ariano reproduced a myriad of shapes and forms from bell shaped pieces to tiles, cups, mugs and so forth. The ceramics produced were complex in structure and decorated with fruit and eccentric bright colours. Chalices with subtle and delicate membranes permitting two liquids to be present in the same cup were an Ariano speciality known throughout Italy in the years end of the 18th century beginning of the 19th century. This resurrection was based on the solid work and dedication of researchers such as Guido Donatore who, in 1976 published “Maiolica Popolare Campana”, and in 1980 “La maiolica di Ariano Irpino”. Another important researcher was Gemma Furclolo Fiore who published “Storia illustrata di Avellino e dell’Irpinia” (1996) and “L’antica Maiolica Popolare Di Ariano Irpino nel Museo Civico” in 1998.

Napoli

The Capodimonte factory: the art of porcelain. Capodimonte’s porcelain began in 1743, when, following Maria Amalia Walburga of Sassonia’s (daughter of Federico Augusto King of Poland and grand-daughter of August the Great – creator of the porcelain factory in Meissen), marriage to Carlo III di Borbone the couple decided to build a porcelain factory in Naples. This would align the court with the various European counterparts that possessed already structures of similar nature. The building that was chosen to house the factory was located in the forests of Capodimonte close to the royal residence and it was transformed by the architect Ferdinando Sanfelice in only three months. The first operators in the new factory were Livio and Gaetano Schepers together with Giovanni Caselli, they were given the job of producing the paste for the ceramics. Giuseppe Gricci, the sculptor from Florence was accorded the position of modeller, and the artist Giuseppe della Torre and cutter Ambrogio di Giorgio finalised an excellent start-up equip. To counter the absence of kaolin, earth was imported from Calabria. From this material it was possible to obtain a tender ceramics paste ideal for porcelain production. The quality was extremely high and this transparent white coloured “tender” paste allowed finishing’s and coatings to absorb the paint and decorations and lend the same a glassy effect. Even though the styles were inspired by the Meissen production, the objects realised in Capodimonte (recognised by their grey light blue shades) took on artistic forms that were autonomous and assumed a distinct style of elegance and refinement. The plastic production of Capodimonte is of great originality and obtained fame throughout Europe. In 1759, Carlo di Borbone, was recalled to Spain following the death of his brother Ferdinando VI and took the Spanish throne. He took some equipment, forms, paste and some of the best craftsmen and artists with him to Spain and left orders to destroy or render useless the machines and equipment that he had been forced to abandon. Following the closure of Capodimonte, Naples remained without a porcelain factory for twelve years up until Carlo di Borbone’s son king Ferdinando VI, came of age. Ferdinando decided to reopen the factory initially at Portico and later in 1773 in the Royal Palace itself. The Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea porcelain (distinguished by the letter “N” with blue crown) can be divided into three periods. The first period (1773- 1780), saw an artistic direction led by Francesco Celebrano, artist and sculptor, under the administrative governing of Tommaso Perez. The second period (1780-1799) was a very happy period for the factory ferdinandea: the direction was given to Domenico Venuti, and chief modeller was handled by Filippo Tagliolini, from the Imperial Factory of Vienna. The last years (1800-1806) were conditioned by politics and the financial difficulties facing the monarchy of the time and the Realm. In 1806, the Real Fabbrica finished permanently its activity but the numerous masters of the art and craftsmen were free to continue to exercise the art they had acquired. Throughout the 19th century the Naples ceramists organised in family groups continued to breath life into the large and small pieces including also small laboratory realisations. The most important families involved were the Del Echo, the Giustiniani, the Migliolo, the Mollica, the Colonnese, the Savastano and the Esposito. Since the 50’s up until today the laboratories have multiplied and in addition to the common use objects the ancient tradition has been adapted to artistic realisations of greats success such as great vases, services for the table, an ideal continuation in the tradition of the 17th century Real Fabbrica.

Vietri sul Mare

The oldest record of a ceramics work is a votive tile, dated 1627, on the wall of a town building. This tablet expresses a popular religious spirit which has continued down the years, as numerous other examples, all with the date and mounted on the walls of houses both humble and elegant, bear out. At first ceramics concerned the production of enamelled earthenware objects for everyday use, such as plates of varying sizes (including the “caponcielli”), pots for oil and wine, tankards, vases, majolica jars, votive tiles and fonts for holy water. The decorative motifs, with warm, Mediterranean colours, went back to a pastoral, sylvan world. In the 17th century more sophisticated forms and decorations developed, and the production of floor tiles (“riggiole”) flourished, particularly later, in the 19th century. In the 1920s Vietri’s ceramics were strongly influenced by artists providing new ideas, particularly Germans (Dolker, Kowaliska, Hannasch). New forms and decorations transformed the production of local ceramists, giving rise to the so-called “German Period”.

PUGLIA

Grottaglie

The oldest ceramic finds discovered date back to the VIII century B.C. The existence of an old ceramic production is demonstrated by the discovery, during the 60’s in Contrada Vicentino, of numerous artefacts of local production such as pots, vases and cups. The manufacture continued during the Magna Grecia Age when there was the maximum level of artistic and craft production in the near town of Taranto. In the necropolis of the old settlements funeral complements have been found, along with vases displaying black drawings on a red background, and vice versa red figures on a black background. A 1463 document by the Royal Custom-House in Taranto attests the majolica production and trade, what is also confirmed by the archaeological excavations where materials such as glazed polychrome plumbiferous ceramics have been discovered. By that time Grottaglie had become the major supplier of ceramic home products at the service of mercantile and sea traffic. Starting from 1567 some archive material lists a group of ceramists qualified as “cretari” (working with clay) and employed in creating objects of everyday use. Then, in 1600 the so called “faenzari” appeared, and they were committed to a more distinguished and refined kind of ceramic. Fragments belonging to this period have been found during the excavation works executed around the Bishop’s Palace and near the “Chiesa del Carmine”. The ceramic from Grottaglie has always been produced according to principles such as beauty and functionality, and that is the form in relation to the use. In 1700 a qualified production started to be distinguishable in which the typical “whites of Grottaglie” stand out, such as tureens with stellaria, “ciarle” and “vucali” with plasticized items. Typical of the production in Puglia are the wedding cups, jugs and anthropomorphic bottles. The most original expression of majolica is represented by the typical “ciarla”, a kind of amphora with a large handled top. CALABRIA

Squillace

The art of modelling in clay within our land dates back to antiquity. The inhabitants of MINERVA SCOLACIUM used to model in clay in order to create everyday tools. As early as then sgraffito ceramics in a warm dark red became the typical product of Squillace’s Master Potters, known throughout the region: their crockery and ceramics were in great demand, even finding their way into the great Courts, such as the fifteenth century court of Ferrante of Aragon. Numerous highly-valued exhibits at some of the world’s most important museums in, for example, London, Paris, New York, Naples, Palermo and Faenza, have testified down the years to the constant production by Squillace’s craftsmen. Especially noteworthy was a large slip and sgraffito ceramic plate bearing the inscription: Sqllci 1654. This piece, at one time preserved in the Municipal Museum of Catanzaro but now lost, represents one of the masterpieces of Squillace’s craftsmen, in which the artist expressed the greatest virtuosity. The great artistic ferment of the past, which gave to Squillace a cultural role of a certain importance, lives on today in the great energy of the town’s young craftsmen, belonging to a Consortium named “Le Ceramiche di Squillace”. The characteristic of Squillace’s ceramics is represented by the ancient technique of slipping, a process which involves covering the product with a layer of white-coloured kaolin and then applying a scratch-work decoration with a sharp point. The bare clay thus acquires in the first firing a dark red colour which contrasts with the whitish slip ornamentation.

SICILIA

Santo Stefano di Camastra

The first ones to carry out this activity were the tenth-century Arabs. Traces of old furnaces and many archive witnesses make us think of the existence of ceramics works already at the time of the Arabs. The first ceramics findings date back to the discovery of the old town’s cemetery (1878-1880). The old cemetery is the most genuine expression of Santo Stefano’s artisans. The ceramics covers found on the graves are the widest collection of majolica for pavements. The reconstruction of the town in 1682 represented a strong incentive for the production of brick-works (tiles and bricks), and the production was also advantaged by the fact that the town was moved down to the valley were there were richer clay quarries. In the eighteenth century, when terracotta tiles began to be glazed, clay arts in Santo Stefano made a qualitative leap and could compete with the Caltagirone, Palermo, Trapani and Naples clays. The glaze and colour production techniques were learnt by majolica masters from Naples. The production was not limited to the building material and to materials for domestic use. There was also a production of artistic ceramics for interior and exterior decorations of aristocrats’ palaces. At the beginning of this century (1934) the regional School of Arts for Ceramics was set up. The quality of the production improved both in Italy and abroad (Santo Stefano Ceramics are shown at international exhibitions in New York, Toronto, Frankfurt, Barcelona, etc..) Fire in ceramics kilns has burnt for more than 300 years without dying out. Santo Stefano ceramics boast an extremely rich collection of shapes, figures and colours, in the production of flower pot holders, plates, jugs, vases and tiles with the traditional polychrome decorations. A constant characteristic of these ceramics is a rural taste that accompanies the enamels’ brightness and the pictorial taste of the decorations, as in the end-of the eighteenth century Trabia palace. The essential colours of this majolica are copper green, orange-yellow, cobalt blue and manganese brown that, though respecting the typical geometry of the Luigi 14th style, maintain the rural element that is typical of the Sicilian taste. The success of the Santo Stefano economy lies in the fact that they exported not only products but also the culture that generated them, the processes and the enthusiasm with which they were designed and produced. In the nineteenth century, even though the traditional and already experimented ceramics tradition was being kept alive, the artisan production was being transformed into an industrial technique. At the beginning the range of decorations was not very wide, but later it expanded, when the local ceramists came in touch with ceramists from Naples. Some artisans, in order to improve their pictorial techniques invited to Santo Stefano some ceramists from France, who worked for them and remained in town for many years.

Sciacca

In Sciacca: a living ceramic tradition. Amongst the first signs of ceramic activity in Sciacca, a group of glass decorated ceramic fragments dating back to the feudal times of S. Domenico can be cited. The pieces have been traced back to the Norman period of history and have no equal in beauty and genuine the type of work found. I 1971 the 13th century kilns used to fire the clay and various fragments of ceramic and glass were discovered and traced back to the second half of the 14th century. They are today conserved in the museum of Caltagirone. Various works identifiable by the unmistakeable stem incised on the same originating from Sciacca are today found in the nearby towns of Agrigento and Gela thanks to Leonardo known as “de Sacca”, chief enforcer of the Val di Mazara and captain of arms. Gugliemo Xurtino and his son Nicola Lu Sciuto were amongst the first majolica craftsmen and in the 14th century (1470) the latter branded four ceramic trees, one of which remains and is exhibited in the national museum of Malta. Up until the end of the century Sciacca was a zone of majolica craftsmen and proof of the same remains in various documents concerning materials supply to Palermo, Monreale and Trapani. Unfortunately the majolica paving in the church of S. Margerita and decorated by Pietra Francavilla in 1496 has been destroyed. Ancient manuscripts and documents exist however that attest to saccense ceramics and a panel painted by San Calogero located in the the cave of Monte Cronio dated 1545 (finished by Francesco De Xuto great granson of the more famous Nicola). Amongst the sons of the master Nicola, Francesco author of the majolica paving in the Genova section of the convent of S. Francesco d’Assisi in Palermo commissioned by Genova merchants present in the regional capital. The Saccensi craftmen also supplied the tiles for the”Palazzo degli Aiutamicristo” in 1490 and for the “Duomo di Monreale” in 1498. Nine of these tiles that made up the cathedral’s paving have survived the dismantling and are today conserved in London at the Victoria and Albert museum. The golden age of majolica in Sciacca was the 16th century, an age which saw various actors including Antonio Ramanno, the Lo Boj brothers and Giuseppe Bonachia, called “ the Mayharata.” The latter is the most famous tile decorator in Sicily and is the author of the majolica bands in the Genova monument in the church “San Giorgio dei Genovesi” of Sciacca, built in 1520 but destroyed two years later. The band and paving was composed of 2.475 tiles and six large panels, (today conserved in the local Art Institute), formed part of a number of works that contained Old and New Testament representations. The Lo Boj brothers created pharmaceutical vases, realisation some in the Naples style but capable of reproducing also the Venetian and Faenza style. Various craftsmen moved to Trapani, Palermo and Burgio where they created and signed works that influenced local production. In the second half of the 20th century the ceramics of Sciacca underwent a revival, today some 30 artists continue the activity respecting the ancient traditions and decorate vases with the colours of the past (yellow, straw, orange, turquoise, blue and green). The presence of the local Art Institute allows young people to train and learn the techniques by working alongside masters and in ceramic laboratories thus keeping this ancient art alive.

Burgio

The revitalization of ceramics: secrets and time-honored formulas handed down over the centuries. Quartare, lanceddi, ‘nzri, lemmi: the majolica creations from Burgio are examples of outstanding creativity. For centuries, the local clay pits have fed the ability to create finely crafted pieces out of nothing. Especially between the 16th and 19th centuries, a solid tradition developed and was injected with new energy by a group of ceramicists from nearby Caltagirone who moved their craft to Burgio. The numerous workshops that popped up spread the production of enamelled terracotta, which over time was embellished with very personal new designs. The proximity of Sciacca, and therefore the expertise of its ceramicists, along with the possibilities for trade offered by the nearby sea, combined in the following centuries to make Burgio a crossroads for masters and craftsmen from across Italy who learned the art of its potters. Among them, from 1685 to 1703, master Nicolò Lo Cascio developed a personal style in his series of chemists’ jars. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the local workshops intensified their production, specializing in bricks for the decorative floors featuring the luminous polychrome still found today in some residences in Palermo. During the same period, the production of ceramics was joined by works depicting sacred devotional scenes, such as Christ on the Cross, from 1763. These works of such sophisticated mastery accompanied the production of domestic items sold in the local fairs and intended for daily use, such as jars, colanders, and flower vases. In all of them, the decorations preserved their own stylistic identity. The colours in all the pieces are still produced today following ancient recipes known only to a select few master ceramicists, who strive to pass on their composition to the next generation. The "Reawakening of Ceramics" and the re launch of the majolica economy. When admiring a ceramic work by the masters of Burgio, one cannot avoid being captivated by the luminous polychrome that gives each element an incredibly life-like quality. Keeping this art alive and making it a hotbed of new talent are the ideas that drive the town of Burgio’s "Reawakening of Ceramics" Project. The proposal was awarded the special Ales award for efforts in Federculture, since it revitalizes an ancient craft at risk of extinction by salvaging an ancient tradition. Thanks to historical research, the opening of new artisans shops was promoted and training courses for ceramicists were organized that aim especially at reaching young people. The shop of the brothers Giuseppe and Paolo Caravella is a museum of Burgio ceramics. In the workshop visitors can admire the "balata" on which the clay is kneaded, the lathe, which is turned with the feet, and the enormous kiln where the ceramics are fired. The process of creating ceramic objects has survived unaltered, preserving the tradition of the ancient production process. Entering this workshop is like taking a trip back in time. Precisely in order to preserve a tradition that was about to vanish, the town of Burgio recently established a number of training courses aimed at young people. Students are taught not only an art, but also a true craft that in an increasingly technocratic society promotes, almost against the tide, local tradition and ancient riches. Indeed, beyond ceramics, Burgio owes it importance in part to the manufacture of wrought iron, glass, and the production of bronze bells.

Caltagirone

Caltagirone town of ceramics with eighteenth-century polychrome majolica in the town centre. Ceramics production in Caltagirone, as shown by the numerous findings, dates back to the Neolithic age. The presence of good quarries and large woods for firing crockery determined and supported ceramics production. Such production continued uninterrupted during all the prehistoric age, and established itself further with the Hellenization of Sicily from the eighth century BC. The famous “Potter’s crater” from the 4th century BC, with red figures representing the forging of a vase before the Goddess Athena, is a significant and fascinating testimony of the presence, in those years, of workshops in town. Ceramics production continued under the Roman and Byzantine rule and changed substantially after the Arab Conquest, as the Arabs introduced glazing and polychrome. Since then, ceramics handicrafts has become a well-established production, thanks both to the production of containers for honey and sweets, that were well-known products of Caltagirone, and to the production of decorative and domestic objects and coverings. While internal fights, wars and new rules were closing, in most cases for ever, many workshops in important coastal areas, Caltagirone carried on with its production and, with its ceramics, it recorded new fashions, influences and typologies of the main artistic centres of the times. The Spanish influence was fundamental at the time of the Aragonese while in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the Ligurian, Venice and Murcia influx were very important. The earthquake that shook the whole South-East of Sicily, caused severe problems to ceramics production, but it recovered soon thanks to the pressing needs of reconstruction and to the needs of privates, noblemen, ecclesiastics and religious orders. An original and lively polychrome of manganese, golden yellow, copper green and blue predominate, in more and more elaborate vases enriched with plastic applications on relief. The artisans of Caltagirone managed to react also to the second catastrophe, represented by Neapolitan factories. Artisans reacted with the invention of a new production : the figure in painted terracotta representing popular characters and scenes. In the nineteenth century such figure became famous at international level with the masterpieces of Giacomo Bongiovanni, Giuseppe Vaccaro and many other masters. In the twentieth century, decorative terracotta was finally applied to architecture especially in the cemetery Cimitero del Paradiso, in villas, palaces, in the homes of Caltagirone and of Sicily. Today there are about 150 workshops that produce majolica, terracotta and figurines according to the calatina tradition that inspires the artisans, although the production has been transformed and innovated. It often happens that some artists stand out and become famous at national level, like Gianni Ballarò, Franco Cannilla, Dino Caruso, Andrea Parini. The last decade of the 19th century however saw a decline in the sector of brick and tile production. The artistic and traditional artisan production sector has resisted and continues to produce valuable quality based ceramic products and many Castellamonte artists have become well known for their works. Today 150 people work in the ten or so laboratories that produce stoves, objects and kitchen ware. There are 9 artisan laboratories that produce various works, the most famous being the stove.

SARDEGNA

Oristano

The ancient art of Oristan “figoli”. Amongst the most important discoveries of Oristan ceramics are the remains (locally originated and imported) found inside the church of S. Chiara. The oldest objects date back to 8th-14th century and prove the existence of ceramics production in the local region between the ancient history and the middle ages. The pieces found are glazed and are generally decorated using the “stangiu” technique decorated and covered with glass. The features of today Oristan ceramics is the colour; a yellow or green taint sometimes supported by decorations. In the 8th to 14th century the production was mainly concentrated on kitchen ware and sich as cups, dishes, plates, flasks etc. In the 15th century more intricate forms were introduced such as closed pieces and more decorated plates and a new form of decoration often employed. This consisted of a glassy coating that was faintly coloured with green and yellow on the white surface and became known as the “brocca pintada”, the most prestigious of Oristan ceramics. Other characteristic forms include the “brocca di Sposa” typical of the upper class it was rich in ornamental decorations using also plastics, the “Su Cavalluccio” located on the edge of the height of roofs with ornamental and representative functions. The finest and probably most well known of Oristan ceramics are associated with water vases which were also tainted in typical yellow and green hue. The ceramists became known as “congiolargio” (from Spanish defines ceramist) at the end of the 15th century and there is documentation to attest to Antiogo Siddi. By the beginning of the 16th century the existence of a suburb known as “suburbium figulorum” which is the quarters for the ceramists is documented and was located close to the church of S. Sebastian. This is important because in 1528 the town was heavily infested with the plague and in the same period we hear of three noted “figoli” ceramists: Sebastiano Nonni (1591), Miquel Llija (1592) e Antonio Orrú. Between the end of the 16th century and throughout the 17th century the ceramics sector in Oristanano underwent growth and development and distinguished itself from the previous production by the adoption of “ingobbio” with the novel technique of “slip-ware” that is creation of a decoration by using liquid white clay as paint to decorate traditional ceramic pieces. In the 1600 to 1634 period at least 85 artists are practising and many pieces from the period are Spanish or Italian influenced works. The “Satatuto degli Alfaros” was signed on 25th April 1692 and this established a code of conduct and obligations on the sector to not vary pieces from their original shape and form an exam for apprentices that wish to open a shop or laboratory. The activity continued into the 18th century in the zone of the alfareri that at the outset of the 20th century became known as Via Figoli. The sculpture Francesco Ciusa opened the Applied School of Art in 1925 that boasted a specific ceramics section whilst in 1957 the I.S.O.L.A. (l’Istituto Sardo Organizzazione Lavoro Artigiano) was formed to promote the economic development of the sector in Sardegna. The local Istituto d’Arte, fouded in 1961, allows this age old tradition to be conserved and under the relatively new name of Oristano the “figoli” ceramists.

Assemini

The shops of the “strexiaus”, between tradition and experimentation. The first ceramic remains were discovered in the S. Andrea area and date back to the Punish times but the most important findings were those found in the Sa Mura area. In this flat wet area traces of the remnants of homes in which many ceramics pieces were discovered were found. These pieces in fact proved to be very useful to rebuild the history of Assemini. Amongst the pieces discovered we see vases with pink decorations, or alternatively entirely covered with black paint, all objects of great finesse. In addition local ceramics of punish origin were also discovered, they appear to be imitations of some of the finer imported pieces and all he fragments data back to the 5th and 3rd Century a.C. The ceramics skills was certainly one of the most important capabilities that was passed down by the ancient farmers: in fact everything that was realisable by the wheel “saroda” and by careful sculpturing using natural elements, sun and fire and in particular the “su strexu” style of objects such as casserole dishes, pots, pans, drinking mugs, flasks, “tuvusi” etc. made Assemini one of the centres of ceramics for excellence in the whole island. The most important marketplace was Cagliari with seasonal increases in sales of ceramic objects linked to the local events. The typical ceramics production yard was the internal yard, in the same the well provided ample supply of clay and raw materials, the baths for water treatment, the ceramists wheel and the roof to allow the products to dry in the sun and crude cylindrical wood fired ovens of oriental design. In medieval times the ceramics production was strictly governed by the corporations known as “Gremii”. They decided the creative and commercial activity, of the “strexiaus” with statues that set down mandatory rules regarding forms, shapes, quantities and prices. Between 1919 and 1927 Federico Melis (Bosa 1891 – Urbania 1969) revalorised the tradition of ceramics in Sardinia by mixing research and experimentation with handcrafting skills. Melis settled in Assemini because specialist materials and skills were available in particular regarding glossing and laminating clay products. The young ceramist solved the problem of traditional firing that normally resulted in blackening and burning of glosses and laminated due to the close contact of the materials with open fire. In 1925 he invented a cylinder with refractory glass inside which it was possible to place ceramics, by firing within this container (“Muffola”) it was possible to maintain the ceramic coat and gloss intact by avoiding direct contact with fire, based on these experiments the ceramist then built a special kiln able to produce this type of ceramics. In April 1927 at the Fiera di Milano (Milan exhibition) the resulting glazed ceramics were shown and were judged to be of exceptional beauty. The forms used were women in prayer, knights, married coupled in their traditional poses and dress codes. His constructions were not true majolica but in reality clay objects easily confused with Sardinian majolica due to the white bases. This novelty was immediately exploited for a large scale production based in the “Bottegha d’Arte Ceramica di Assemini” that became a fixed reference point for Sardinian and in particular Cagliari based ceramic customers. Today’s ceramic in Assemini, in addition to the traditional pieces, produces ornamental pieces with a wealth of forms, figures and shapes with refined decorations of all types.

The history and development of ceramics.

CERAMICS

Among the possible definitions, ceramics may be described as “a product made of non metallic inorganic raw materials, natural (mineral) or artificial, transformed from an inconsistent powdery state into an exsiccate semi finished product, that becomes a solid object through the firing within the special kiln”.

The etymology of the word seems to derive from the Greek and it is directly connected to the name of a north-western quarter of the ancient Athens, “Ceramico”, in which potter workers used to live; this name seems to derive from the Grecian verb “to mix”, that refers to the activities of artisans “mixer” of clay. In order to obtain the ceramics, it is necessary to mix earth (argil or “clay”) with water, and to provide an intervention of the following elements: human work, desiccation due to the action of air, consolidation by fire in order to transform it into objects of practical and ornamental use.

THE BODY

The first green ware, already relatively hardened and then expressly dried, must be exposed to fire, to shrink the earthy body (paste), to harden it and permanently fix it, and according to its chemical composition, it more or less strongly transforms it and changes its colour.

After firing, the body can be considered either according to the different degree of compactness or according to the colour it has taken on (there are porous or compact paste ceramics and coloured or white paste ceramics). But the final classification must take into account another element that is usually constitutive of a given kind of ceramics: coating (see further).

TERRACOTTA

The simplest expression of ceramics are the objects made only of the body: terracotta, that is also the name given to the first big class of a rational division of production, therefore to all the manufactured products of a clay that is porous and coloured when fired and that does not have any coating (from bricks to ordinary garden vases, from statuettes to decorative terracotta).

But use requirements and aesthetic feelings suggested since the most ancient times the adoption of a process to adjust the porosity and change the colour of the paste. This process involves the application of a more or less thick wrapping, either transparent or opaque, that makes soft pastes not waterproof, that polishes the hard ones, and covers with its colour the body of the clays that do not stay white after firing.

COATING

There are many types of coatings, first of all paints and glazes. The first are transparent and the lead based one (lead-bearing paint) is also called glaze (vetrina) or crystal - and they melt at relatively low temperatures; the boraciferous and felspathic ones are more typical of china, because they melt at higher temperatures. The most common and well-known glaze is the white and shiny one, the traditional coating of majolica.

Both types can be painted with verifiable colours that, together with the necessary fluxes, behave differently and lead to different results according to the temperature and to the atmosphere of the kiln (oxidising or reducing atmosphere).

Then there are the alkaline coathings – used by ceramists in the past – and the earthy ingobbio, made of a white earthy fleece (also called of Siena or Vicenza), that is applied on the green and that requires a second waterproof envelope (named bianchetto).

PAINTING

Also painting and colour décor are, in most cases, made of verifiable colours. According to the temperature they must be submitted to, the colours can be called low flame or muffle flame (to be applied only on coating about 600°) and high fire (to be applied under the coating and inside it, from 900° to 970° and above).

There are two kinds of coatings: The ingobbio: made of clay and applied to handworks still lightly wet before their firing; the surface coloured with ingobbio, once cooked, results porous, opaque and non verified. The paints: they are of vitreous kind, waterproof and bright. They are transparent, even if they can be coloured, and they make the underlying clay visible.

SPECIAL CLAYS

Usually after exsiccation clay products are cooked, in order to make them more mechanically resistant and to eliminate from them the residual water. Firing is made in special kilns that attain very elevate temperatures (over 1000°C).

Firing process may last many hours, because temperature must progressively increase according to prearranged curves.

A series of reactions happen during firing process, influencing the properties of the final product. Through opportunely modulating firing curve, it is possible to obtain different results according to the properties that must be obtained:

 at 900°C we obtain terracotta, a very porous and little resistant material;  between 900 and 1100°C we obtain earthenware, less porous that terracotta, that has a white past and that may have different compactnesses, so requiring a plombiferous paint or a coating as a consequence of the temperature at which it is cooked;  between 1200 and 1300°C we obtain gres, a very vitrified product, waterproof and little porous, with a compact past generally coloured;  over 1300°C (if kaolin is used) we obtain porcelain, a very vitrified product, translucid and waterproof, with a compact and white past requiring a coating.

CLASSIFICATION

Therefore, there are two essential processes for the production of ceramics: the manipulation of materials and firing: during this last stage, changes in the physical state and the progressive and continuous chemical reactions that fix the kind of ceramics that one wants to produce take place.

The attempts made to classify ceramics products have been very laborious, the terminology is still dubious, the single nomenclatures are still debated and the words in different languages do not exactly correspond. The following concise chart shows the most common cases, and it has long been adopted by the Museum and by the School of Ceramics in Faenza, taking into account the two main aspects: the historical and the technical one.

Paste Coating Type of Ceramics most common characteristics colour compactness use quality name type name example decorative, architectonic without opaque terracotta - - brick – works, coating garden vases, etc. classical porous alkaline paint painted terracotta ceramics, black and red pictures coloure with siliceous- vetrina or faience siliceous- Muslims ceramics d paste coating plumbiferous crystal slip or (opaque) plumbifero Italian scratched “bianchetto” us slip ceramics alkaline stannifero majolica glaze or plumbiferous us “invetriatura” stanniferous without coating - - ordinary alkaline salted with paint stoneware compact plumbiferous painted coating glaze (opaque) stanniferous glazed white porcelain without coating paint white porous vases paste biscuit Medicean glazed or porcelain or translucen soft (or French porcelain with plumbiferous compact covering t artificial) far east ceramic coating boraciferous porcelain porcelain and European biscuit ceramics after Bottger

La storia della ceramica

Italia

La ceramica, intesa come espressione artistica, è entrata a far parte della storia dell’uomo ormai da 35.000 anni. Il suo sviluppo ricalca fedelmente l’evoluzione dei costumi religiosi, culturali, socio- economici e commerciali che hanno caratterizzato la storia d’Italia.

DAL PRIMO AL TERZO SECOLO

In Italia le origini della ceramica risalgono al I secolo, e risentono dell’influenza delle culture Romana ed Etrusca. Si tratta di tecniche rudimentali, denominate “tecnica delle figure nere” e “tecnica delle figure rosse” e caratterizzate dalla presenza di sagome sui bordi del vasellame. Prove fittili di tali prodotti sono state trovate nella parte settentrionale dell’Italia (ad Este, Padova, Vicenza, Montebelluna, Altino, Adria e Adriano Polesine sono state scoperte numerose necropoli contenenti una grande varietà di vasellame e di utensili di ceramica)

Ad Arezzo, tra il I secolo a.C. e il III secolo d.C. si diffonde la migliore produzione di una tipologia ceramica tipica di Roma denominata a “terra sigillata”. La produzione appartenente a questa categoria è caratterizzata da una superficie abbastanza lucida e dal tipico colore del corallo. Le forme erano ottenute attraverso stampi di terraglia; il nome “terra sigillata" deriva dall'uso che si faceva dello stampo che era chiamato “sigillum”, mentre gli schiavi esecutori erano detti “sigillatores”.

DAL QUARTO AL QUINTO SECOLO

In questo periodo compare una nuova tecnica – denominata “ingobbio” – che presagisce l’avvento della maiolica. La superficie dei prodotti di ingobbio ha un rivestimento bianco, decorato con disegni graffitati o dipinti con colori marroni o verdi. L’origine di questa tecnica risale alla cultura greca, ma il suo utilizzo non è stato continuativo, essendo stata spesso perduta e ritrovata. La produzione dell’ingobbio si diffonde in tutta l’Italia centro- meridionale fino all’avvento della maiolica (XVIII).

MEDIO EVO (DAL 476 AL 1492)

I ceramisti italiani tentano a lungo di scoprire come creare prodotti lucenti. Cercano di trovare uno sfondo bianco su cui dipingere ottenendo effetti lucenti (in realtà stanno cercando la maiolica, ma questa tecnica è stata ancora scoperta).

Dalla Spagna (Paterna) arriva una buona soluzione. Stiamo parlando dello “smalto stannifero”, che offre un rivestimento bianco e resistente all’acqua. Le ceramiche appartenenti a questa tipologia sono state scoperte nel centro Italia (Toscana, Siena, Firenze, Emilia e Veneto) e specialmente ad Orvieto (ceramiche orvietane).

In seguito è stata scoperta la maiolica. La tradizione narra che la maiolica italiana provenga dall’isola di Maiorca (da cui il suo nome); mentre recenti studi archeologici sono orientati verso uno sviluppo autonomo delle tecniche ceramiche interno all’Italia (XI secolo), dallo smalto stannifero alla maiolica.

L’uso della maiolica si è diffuso in Italia grazie ai contatti con il popolo arabo (per quanto attiene alle tecniche) e con i popoli greco e romano (per le forme ed i disegni).

Le regioni maggiormente coinvolte sono: la Sicilia, la Puglia, l’Abruzzo, la Toscana e la Romagna (in particolare ad Orvieto, Faenza, Forlì, Rimini e Ravenna furono prodotti oggetti molto preziosi).

RINASCIMENTO (DAL 1400 AL 1800)

Nel corso del Rinascimento la ceramica raggiunge risultati tecnici notevoli da cui si originano forme e decorazioni nuove. Tali risultati sono il frutto del lavoro e delle esperienze acquisite nel corso del tempo e tramandate di generazione in generazione. La maiolica si impone nel corso del 1500 nell’Italia centrale e raggiunge rapidamente livelli alti sia sul fronte tecnico che su quello della qualità artistica. Nell’ambito di tale prolifica produzione sorgono stili diversi, classificati da Gaetano Ballardini – un ceramista di Faenza – in “famiglie” sulla base del periodo di appartenenza. Segue un elenco di queste “famiglie” (dal ‘400 all’ ‘800) con una descrizione delle caratteristiche proprie di ciascuna.

Stile severo L'inizio del quattrocento è caratterizzato dallo "stile severo". Le decorazioni di questa "famiglia" sono in preferenza con motivi vegetali o stilizzati che risentivano dello stile orientale, con colori verde e bruno. Alla metà del secolo i cambiamenti che si verificano in architettura fanno nascere interesse per la casa e l'arredamento ed in generale per ogni fenomeno d'arte: nasce la moda del collezionismo.

Famiglia verde Così denominata per l'uso quasi esclusivo di un verde (ottenuto dall'ossido di rame) che contorna figure di animali o di uomini (1425- 1450) (la famiglia verde e la famiglia a zaffera a rilievo sono quasi contemporanee). Esse costituiscono il vanto della ceramica toscana.

Famiglia zaffera in rilievo La parola zaffera deriva dall'arabo safra cioè cobalto, minerale da cui si ricava il color turchino. In Italia la zaffera, silicato di ossido di cobalto veniva applicato con abbondanza, entro il disegno tracciato con il bruno manganese, cosi da far apparire le figure di blu lucente, in rilievo sul piano dello smalto. I disegni rappresentano la natura, compresa la figura umana che viene posta al centro e circondata fiori, foglie, uccelli, elementi araldici, ecc. Questo modo di comporre il disegno diverrà col tempo uno dei modi principali di decorare la ceramica.

Famiglia italo-moresca Si caratterizza per l'uso del giallo (1450-1480). I vasai italiani non conoscevano il segreto del lustro delle ceramiche spagnole perciò cercarono di imitarle usando il manganese e colorando le superfici in giallo-arancione. Il motivo decorativo è costituito da piccole foglioline e tralci che ricoprono quasi l'intera superficie del vaso.

Famiglia gotico-floreale Prende il nome da forme decorative che fanno riferimento alle miniature gotiche (1460-1490).

Famiglia a occhio di pavone L'occhio del pavone è la parte finale della penna del pavone che per i popoli dell'oriente è simbolo della vita eterna e dell'immortalità dell'anima (1460-1495). Ceramiche policromatiche faentine di notevole effetto nate quando, a seguito della conquista dei turchi Ottomani di Costantinopoli, si interruppe il commercio con i mercati orientali e quindi erano scarse le importazioni di ceramiche, stoffe, oggetti preziosi decorati con motivi ad occhio di pavone, mentre la loro richiesta continuava. Forse ciò spinse molti artisti ad imitare questa decorazione per sopperire alle richieste.

Famiglia a palmetta persiana Caratterizzata per l’imitazione dei disegni dei tappeti persiani (1475- 1500). Il suo motivo è formato da uno stelo verticale con foglie e otto petali stilizzati (pavimento della cappella dedicata a San Sebastiano nella basilica di S. Petronio a Bologna).

Famiglia delle grottesche Si caratterizza per la riproduzione di figure umane e animali mostruosi.

Famiglia della porcellana In numerose città italiane (Urbino, Pesaro, Faenza, Momtelupo) si copiavano i motivi ornamentali della porcellana cinese: i rami di pruno, gli uccelli di aspetto esotico e i rametti di giunco.

Famiglia dell'istoriato Tra la fine del quattrocento e inizio del cinquecento, sull'onda della grande arte rinascimentale, ci furono profondi cambiamenti nei motivi decorativi delle ceramiche, favoriti dalla diffusione della stampa e la produzione di libri sacri illustrati e di classici latini. Ciò diede modo ai maiolicari italiani di avere a disposizione dei modelli da ricopiare sulle maioliche. La figura umana diventa protagonista. Al centro dei vasi o dei piatti si riproduceva una scena mitologico o storica. Fu in questo periodo che nacque la figura del pittore-vasaio, che aveva il compito di dipingere gli oggetti prodotti dagli artigiani. La loro bellezza ed il costo ne sconsigliavano l'uso, tanto che in pratica molti di questi piatti nacquero con i fori sul retro per essere appesi al muro. Un altro fenomeno che caratterizzò questo periodo fu il mecenatismo. La protezione dei potenti, come ad esempio i Gonzaga, i Medici, papa Giulio XI per la maiolica in generale, permise ai ceramisti, liberati dal dover produrre per sostenersi, la sperimentazione soprattutto di nuovi smalti La grande richiesta da parte dei ceti elevati delle ceramiche istoriate portò a riprodurre in copia uno stesso soggetto. Alla fine del quattrocento, le città di Faenza e Urbino assunsero un'importanza internazionale per i loro prodotti ceramici. In particolare, le maioliche istoriate faentine furono commercializzate ovunque, in Italia ed in Europa. Non solo, ma ben presto ceramisti faentini lasciarono Faenza ed andarono in altri centri italiani ad aprire botteghe specializzate nell'istoriato, forse per trovare più spazio nel mercato. Il colore più usato fu il blu, in tantissime gamme. Le maioliche istoriate, per la lunga lavorazione, l'eccessivo costo e la difficoltà a comprendere il significato delle scene rappresentate, ben presto divenne fuori moda. Le città di Deruta e Gubbio divennero famose per la tecnica del lustro metallico applicato a terzo fuoco.

Famiglia delle belle Riproduzione di volti umani e in special modo di donne belle e prosperose.

Famiglia stile bello

Verso il XVI sec. le decorazioni si rifacevano a motivi rinascimentali ed avevano l'effetto di un quadro. All'inizio del cinquecento avviene il passaggio allo stile italiano. Si abbandonano lentamente i temi orientali; i ceramisti ne sviluppano di personali ideando una ricca varietà di nuovi ornamenti, e partecipando così al rinascimento italiano. Fu in questo periodo che nacque il gusto di abbellire le case appendendo i piatti al muro e ciò favorì la scelta di dipingere le figure o le scene al centro del piatto. Famiglia stile fiorito Si caratterizza per trofei, fogliame e ghirlande disegnate al centro dell'oggetto con colori forti come il giallo, il verde, il violetto ed il blu.

Famiglia delle raffaellesche Si copiavano i soggetti degli affreschi ideati da Raffaello per le logge vaticane.

Il periodo compreso tra il ‘400 ed il ‘500 è caratterizzato dall’esportazione dei prodotti italiani in tutta l’Europa, ed i produttori italiani di maiolica emigrano verso molte città europee. I sovrani europei sono soliti acquistare prodotti in maiolica direttamente presso i negozi di Faenza ed Urbino. Anche la Spagna, paese in cui ebbe origine la maiolica, subisce l’influenza dello stile italiano (grazie al ceramista Francisco Niculoso da Pisa). Fino alla fine del 1600 la porcellana rimane una prerogativa della Cina, che tiene segreta la composizione chimica del suo impasto. Ma per l’Italia è amore a prima vista con la porcellana, considerata un materiale prezioso, incredibilmente perfetto, qualcosa di strano, di magico per la sua trasparenza e sonorità, ma raro. Tutti questi aspetti rendono la porcellana un’espressione di prestigio per chi la possiede. Nel corso del tempo si sono susseguiti numerosi tentativi di riprodurla, ma la sua “ricetta” rimane un vero enigma. Anche il gran duca Francesco I De Medici, un alchimista ante litteram, si avventura in numerosi tentativi di identificazione di una tecnica che gli consentisse di produrre la porcellana. Installa presso il Casino Mediceo (nelle vicinanze di Piazza S. Marco a Venezia) una fabbrica della cosiddetta “porcellana Medicea”. Solo nei primi del ‘700 è stato rivelato all’Europa il segreto della porcellana. In Italia sorgono numerose fabbriche (Venezia, Capodimonte e molte altre). In tali fabbriche da un lato vengono prodotte copie delle porcellane cinesi, dall’altro si sviluppano stili nuovi.

Nel 1743 apre la fabbrica borbonica di Capodimonte, che vive un periodo d’oro fino al 1759, quando Carlo abbandona il suo trono a Napoli e si trasferisce in Spagna, smantellando la fabbrica e portando con sé i suoi uomini e le sue cose.

In Toscana, nel 1735, Carlo Ginori fa costruire una fornace nella sua villa a Doccia con l’intento di produrre gli oggetti più ricercati di quei tempi, e nel 1737 inizia la sua celebre manifattura. In quel periodo la porcellana si sposa con lo stile rococò (tavoli di lusso per banchetti regali, mobilio e soprammobili decorativi).

Dal 1750 la terraglia inglese inizia il suo periodo di successo in Italia, dovuto dalla diffusione in Italia della moda di imitare lo stile inglese. A Faenza, nella fabbrica di Ferniani, si inizia a produrre la terraglia.

La scoperta della terraglia, assieme all’applicazione di principi industriali, semplifica e velocizza notevolmente la produzione.

DAL XIX AL XX SECOLO

In questo periodo i ceramisti rielaborano stili e tendenze dei secoli precedenti, anche se con alcune importanti eccezioni. Infatti in Italia molte città continuano a sviluppare il proprio stile, divenendo famose in tutto il mondo per la propria produzione di oggetti di ceramica.

Le città italiane della ceramica

Quando l’Italia divenne un paese unito la tradizione della ceramica si era affermata già da parecchi secoli, declinandosi in stili diversi strettamente legati alle città di produzione. Quindi la produzione italiana si contraddistingue per la presenza di oggetti artistici con caratteristiche specifiche riconducibili alla tradizione che li ha visti fiorire. In questa sede si offre una panoramica dei principali siti della ceramica. PIEMONTE

Castellamonte

Nella preistoria Castellamonte fu splendida fioritura dell’industria ceramica certamente un insediamento dei Salassi, che raggiunge in questo periodo il suo posto a guardia dell’ingresso delle valli miglior livello qualitativa e invia le dell’Orco. Nel secolo XIX, durante gli famose stufe, i materiali e le decorazioni scavi per lo sfruttamento della torba, per l’edilizia, le statue di terracotta e i furono trovati i resti di un villaggio refrattari per l’industria in tutta l’Italia. palafitticolo dell’età del bronzo e Attualmente dopo un vero e proprio numerosi sono i reperti e le tracce tracollo delle industrie locali, si ha un dell’epoca romana. discreto rifiorire dell’artigianato Il borgo era anticamente collocato sulle tradizionale. rive del torrente Orco, ed era chiamato Montagnacco, ma le continue piene del In accordo con la sua fisionomia di borgo corso d’acqua costrinsero gli abitanti a medievale, Castellamonte si sviluppa a muoversi progressivamente verso un semicerchio intorno al colle, ove sorgono luogo più sicuro. I primi documenti che le rovine del Castello dei Conti San parlano di “Castrum ad montem” o Martino, probabili discendenti del famoso “Castel a Monte” risalgono al secolo XI e re Arduino, marchese di Ivrea e primo di poco più recente è il solitario Re d’Italia. Anticamente il maniero era campanile esistente nella piazza circondato da una cinta muraria principale, unico resto della primitiva provvista di sette porte, oggi invece chiesa romanica di San Pietro. Nel restano originali solo alcuni tratti delle Medioevo il borgo è feudo degli omonimi mura e la porta di accesso al cortile, Signori, che nel giro di pochi secoli mentre le due grandi costruzioni che si saranno completamente soverchiati e innalzano in cima al colle sono di epoche assorbiti dai Conti di San Martino. Con più recenti e sono state rimaneggiate più l’affermarsi del predominio dei Duchi di volte. Lungo le stradicciole in acciottolato Savoia, il paese segue le sorti di gran che portano al castello è possibile parte dei comuni piemontesi, con ammirare eleganti palazzi del ‘600 e del periodiche guerre (da ricordare la rivolta ‘700. Altri due begli esempi di dei Tuchini, che portò alla distruzione del architettura barocca sono le chiese di castello nel XIV secolo), devastazioni San Bernardo e san Rocco, con facciata delle soldataglie francesi, spagnole e arricchita di capitelli, vasi e balaustre in savoiarde, pestilenze e carestie. Tuttavia terracotta. Ma è nel corso dell’800 che la la comunità cresce e si sviluppa, città raggiunge il suo apice per sviluppo l’agricoltura è florida, i molti laboratori culturale e industriale. Risale, infatti, al artigianali di “pignattari” vendono i loro 1842 l’avvio dei lavori di costruzione prodotti su tutti i mercati della provincia, della Chiesa Parrocchiale, affidati i cappellai, un’antica conceria, il maglio, i all’architetto Antonelli, col compito di molini e il frequentato mercato progettare una struttura che doveva settimanale ne fanno uno dei borghi più coprire un’area di poco inferiore a San popolosi e importanti del Canavese. Pietro in Roma. Dopo tre anni di lavoro, Il secolo XIX vede soprattutto la in cui erano state edificate soltanto le mura perimetrali ad un’altezza di 12 m., di Castellamonte- dove è stato posto un la costruzione subì un arresto per pannello introduttivo denominato l’incredibile onere economico. Del “L’albero della ceramica”, in cui ogni progetto iniziale resta la cosidetta formella rappresenta un comune della Rotonda Antonelliana realizzata con Valle Sacra- sale a Castelnuovo Nigra, in pietre del fiume Orco alternate a rossi cui sono stati già sistemati oltre 40 mattoni che testimoniano un’antica presepi in cotto. Il percorso sarà tecnica costruttiva. La chiesa fu poi arricchito ogni anno con la collocazione realizzata nel 1875 dall’architetto di un nuovo pannello per ogni paese Formento in stile romanico-lombardo e della Valle. nella piazza principale si erge solitario il campanile romanico del XII secolo. Nel Momento folkloristico per eccellenza, a centro della città sono poi presenti due Castellamonte è il CARNEVALE STORICO, palazzi gentilizi, quello dei Conti di che annualmente inaugura le Castellamonte, risalente al XVI sec. e manifestazioni e gli eventi culturali della caratterizzato da archi e logge, e il città. Il carnevale attuale, che si ispira palazzo dei Conti di Botton del XVIII all’episodio realmente accaduto della secolo che ospita il Museo della distruzione del castello durante la rivolta Ceramica. dei Tuchini contro i Conti, fra il 1286 e il 1391. Dura undici giorni e si conclude il Di notevole interesse segnaliamo anche mercoledì delle Ceneri con il carosello il progetto “le strade della Ceramica”,un storico e il rogo del “ re Pignatum”. Ad itinerario turistico nato per illustrare la aprile si svolge la tradizionale Fiera forte compenetrazione tra ceramica e D’Aprile, con l’esposizione del bestiame e vita quotidiana nella città di dei prodotti agricoli, arricchita anche Castellamonte e più in generale in tutta dalle bancarelle con specialità la Valle Sacra. Ceramica che nel secolo gastronomiche. Infine è d’obbligo scorso costituiva l’asse portante ricordare La Mostra della Ceramica che dell’economia locale e oggi caratterizza annualmente si svolge da luglio ad aprile la vita artistica e culturale. Nel 199, su sullo sfondo monumentale della Rotonda iniziativa dell’Associazione Artisti della Antonelliana, proponendo al pubblico Ceramica in Castellamonte e dell’Istituto opere di artisti contemporanei esordienti, “F. Faccio”, è stato creato un percorso di una mostra a cielo aperto nel giardino visita, accessibile sia in auto sia in della Rotonda e una scelta di opere di mountain-bike, che partendo dalla città uno o più autori celebri a palazzo Botton.

VENETO

Bassano del Grappa

Per riscoprire le origini di Bassano posizione geografica, a dominio dello possiamo risalire ad un periodo tra la sbocco in pianura del Brenta, del fine dell’età del bronzo e l’inizio dell’età baluardo del Grappa e dei rilievi che del ferro, come testimoniano i precedono l’altopiano di Asiago. L’abitato ritrovamenti di vasi di uso domestico del riceve carattere dai vecchi portici, dalle secolo scorso. In età romana una “Gens costruzioni rinascimentali e in stile Bassia” aveva qui case e poderi; ma solo barocco veneziano, e dalle vie irregolari nel 998 troviamo notizie sicure del primo con alcune case dalle facciate dipinte. nucleo della città situato sul colle di S. Simbolo della città è il ligneo Ponte Maria, in quegli anni feudo dei Vescovi di Vecchio, ricostruito più volte in seguito a Vicenza. piene e distruzioni belliche, sempre Dall’XI al XV secolo la città vive secondo il progetto del 1569 di Palladio. turbolente vicende politiche passando Un tempo, le imbarcazioni coi passeggeri dalla Signoria degli Ezzelini al libero attraccavano al Porto e subito si comune, alla Signoria dei vicentini fino al trovavano di fronte il maestoso palazzo governo illuminato della Signoria di Can Sturm, dimora patrizia del XVIII secolo Grande della Scala. con, decorata all’interno con stucchi e A partire dal XIV secolo il suo destino affreschi, che oggi ospita il Museo della politico e culturale si lega a quello della Ceramica. Centro della città è la Piazza Serenissima fino all’arrivo di Napoleone, Libertà con la statua di S. Bassiano, la l’8 settembre del 1796. Durante il felice chiesa di S. Giovanni Battista, con una periodo di dipendenza politica da cappella riccamente decorata in stile Venezia, la città godette di un vigoroso rococò, e la bella loggia del Comune, sviluppo economico, di una nuova accanto alla quale sorge l’edificio che ripresa urbanistica come testimoniano ospitava la tipografia dei Remondini. Da palazzi e ville dell’epoca, e soprattutto piazza Libertà si passa nell’adiacente diventò noto centro manifatturiero per la piazza Garibaldi dove sorge la bella ceramica, il ferro, il rame, la tessitura di chiesa romanico-gotica di S. Francesco lana e seta , l’oreficeria e la produzione nel cui convento è ospitato il Museo di acquavite. Altra attività di spicco fu Civico. quella della famiglia Remondini che installò e sviluppò una tipografia fra le Nella parte più alta e settentrionale della più moderne e famose d’Europa, attiva città, su piazza del Terraglio si affaccia Il dal 1634 al 1861. Infine a partire dal Castello Superiore, primo fortilizio Risorgimento fino alla Seconda Guerra difensivo e in seguito cittadella. Dentro Mondiale la città diviene avamposto della la fortezza sorge la millenaria Pieve di difesa nazionale; lega per sempre il suo Santa Maria, Duomo della città, nome al Grappa, monte sacro alla Patria documentata a partire dal 998. Dal viale e riceve la Medaglia d’oro che fregia il dei Martiri si scende a Borgo Margnan, suo gonfalone. forse il nucleo primitivo altomedievale La città ci appare nella sua splendida della città. Dopo piazza Trento, si accede al giardino Parolini, organizzato dal Estate Festival Veneto, 400 spettacoli, naturalista bassanese Alberto Parolini danza, progetti teatrali, concerti jazz, con molte piante esotiche. lirica, cinema d’autore, allestiti nei luoghi più suggestivi di Bassano. Appuntamento Le manifestazioni più importanti caratteristico e di grande suggestione cominciano a Bassano in primavera e resta “La Ballata del Millennio” (metà accompagnano il turista per tutta settembre degli anni dispari). Oltre 500 l’estate. Fra maggio e giugno si svolgono figuranti, in costumi delle diverse le rassegne enogastronomiche come la epoche, animano la città per rievocare festa dell’asparago bianco e “Biso & gli 8 momenti più significativi della Verdiso”. In Giugno la città ospita il millenarie storia di Bassano, dalla saga “Festival Internazionale dell’Arte in degli Ezzelini fino alla Resistenza, nel Strada”. Nel cuore dell’estate (luglio, 1944. agosto) è possibile ammirare L’Opera

EMILIA ROMAGNA

Faenza

Faenza, di origine romana, è una VIII secolo. splendida città d'arte la cui fama brillava Intorno al Mille, con il governo dei già nel periodo rinascimentale per la Vescovi, e successivamente nell'età produzione di oggetti in ceramica, di comunale , visse un lungo momento di squisita fattura, esportati in molti paesi ricchezza ed espansione edilizia che Europei. avrebbe raggiunto il culmine nell'età Il toponimo è diventato sinonimo di della signoria dei Manfredi. Con il ceramica (maiolica) in molte lingue, tra governo di Carlo Manfredi, nella seconda cui il francese (faiance) e l'inglese metà del XV secolo, venne infatti (faience). realizzato il piano di rinnovamento urbanistico del centro cittadino. Dopo un La città fiorì notevolmente a partire dalla breve dominio veneziano, Faenza entrò a seconda metà del secolo d.C., per la sua far parte dello Stato della Chiesa fino al vocazione agricola e lo sviluppo di 1767. Il volto attuale della città si è attività industriali quali la produzione dunque formato in questo lungo arco di d'uso di ceramica (laterizi) e tessili in evoluzione storica, arricchendosi nel lino. Dopo un periodo di decadenza che tempo di architetture di grande pregio, dal II secolo si protrasse fino al primo con una forte caratterizzazione Medioevo, ritrovò prosperità a partire dal rinascimentale e neoclassica.

UMBRIA

Gubbio

Gubbio fu centro degli Umbri, come d'arte. Nell'attigua canonica è ospitato il testimoniano le Tavole Eugubine, il più Museo Diocesano. S. Francesco, chiesa a antico cimelio epigrafico dell'Italia tre navate risalente alle seconda metà preromana. Città alleata con Roma e del '200. Nelle absidi affreschi del Nelli e sottoposta al dominio bizantino e di anonimi dei secc. XIII e XIV. longobardo, nel XII sec. raggiunse, come Suggestivi i chiostri e altre parti libero comune, un periodo di prosperità e dell'attiguo convento (in cui ha sede una sviluppo. Tra il 1354 e il 1376 Gubbio fu raccolta d'arte). Di notevole interesse dominata dalla Chiesa. Seguì un periodo storico-artistico sono pure le chiese di S. di lotte intestine che portò (1384) alla Agostino, S. Domenico, S. Pietro e S. dominazione dei Montefeltro, duchi di Maria della Vittorina, luogo dell’incontro Urbino. Dal 1631 in poi Gubbio fece tra S. Francesco e il Lupo. Il Teatro parte dello Stato della Chiesa. Con Romano risale alla fine del I sec. a.C. Napoleone la città fu unita alla Restaurato all'inizio del '900, è oggi sede Repubblica Romana e poi al Regno di spettacoli estivi. Il Parco Ranghiasci, Italico. Dopo l'annessione al Regno "ad uso inglese", con villini e giardini, fu d'Italia, fu aggregata all'Umbria. realizzato nella prima metà dell' '800.

Una zona ricca di attrattive Festa dei Ceri. Si svolge ogni anno il 15 paesaggistiche e naturali fa da sfondo al maggio in onore di S. Ubaldo, protettore centro storico cittadino, caratterizzato da della città. I Ceri sono tre alti e pesanti edifici medievali e da notevoli manufatti lignei sormontati monumenti. Tra essi ricordiamo: I rispettivamente dalle statue di S. Palazzi Pubblici e Piazza Grande. Ubaldo, S. Giorgio e S. Antonio Abate. I Complesso monumentale, iniziato ceraioli li portano a spalla e di corsa con dall'architetto Angelo da Orvieto il Pal. delle barelle per le vie della città fino alla dei Consoli, compiuto verso il 1340, basilica di S. Ubaldo, sulla vetta del ospita il Museo Comunale, articolato monte Ingino. Palio della Balestra nella pinacoteca e nelle sezioni (ultima domenica di maggio). E' una archeologica e delle ceramiche. tradizionale competizione con l'antica L'incompiuto Pal. del Podestà è ora balestra da postazione. I balestrieri residenza municipale. La piazza pensile eugubini e di Sansepolcro si danno fu costruita alla fine del sec. XV. Il Pal. appuntamento in Piazza Grande. La gara Ducale, di origine medioevale, fu consiste nel centrare un bersaglio posto edificato dopo il 1470 su disegno di a 36 metri di distanza, ed è Francesco di Giorgio Martini per volere di accompagnata dall'esibizione degli Federico da Montefeltro. Magnifico il Sbandieratori. Processione del Cristo cortile rinascimentale. La Cattedrale Morto (o del Venerdì Santo). Viene (secc. XIII-XIV), è stata ripristinata organizzata dalla Confraternita di S. internamente all'inizio del '900. E' ricca Croce della Foce ed è una di pregevoli pale d'altare e di altri oggetti rappresentazione simbolica del dramma della Passione di Cristo. I confratelli statue del Cristo Morto e della Madonna sfilano all'imbrunire portando i simboli Addolorata; dietro di esse intonano le della Passione. Il corteo è chiuso dalle loro laudi i cantori del "Miserere".

CAMPANIA

Napoli

Fino al XVIII secolo, Capodimonte era ancora oggi numerosi fabbricati che solo un borgo, immerso nel verde e ospitavano attività legate alla vita della affacciato sul golfo, uno dei tanti che gli corte. abitanti di Napoli avevano costruito fuori le mura nonostante il divieto dei viceré A partire dall’inizio del XIX secolo, si spagnoli di edificare in queste zone. tentò di dare un volto urbano ai borghi Dopo l’ascesa di Carlo III di Borbone al settentrionali. In prosecuzione di Via trono di Napoli, nel 1734, la monarchia Toledo venne aperta la strada di costituì nell’arco di alcuni anni un collegamento con la città, l’odierna Via sistema di insediamenti regi, i “Siti S. Teresa degli Scalzi. Questa tratta fu Reali”, ubicati nei dintorni della capitale: aperta sbancando la collina e lasciando i luoghi prescelti sono Capodimonte, le costruzioni più antiche a un’altezza Portici e Caserta. Il Palazzo reale, diversa rispetto alla strada moderna. iniziato nel 1738 su disegno di Antonio L’intervento permise di creare un Medrano, venne completato solo un percorso rettilineo che oggi collega il secolo dopo. Fin dalla sua nascita, ebbe centro a Capodimonte, fino ad allora la funzione di reggia e di museo; Carlo, raggiungibile solo con tortuosi percorsi, e infatti, lo fece costruire per la sua corte e trasformò parte del sito, integrandolo nel per installarvi la collezione di opere tessuto urbano. d’arte ereditata dalla madre Elisabetta Farnese. Accanto al palazzo venne In estate, Capodimonte ospita il “luglio installata la fabbrica di porcellane. Il re musicale”, una rassegna di concerti. Tra fece inoltre realizzare il parco, le principali manifestazioni che si soprattutto per praticarvi la caccia, il suo svolgono a Napoli, si segnala il Natale di passatempo preferito. La parte iniziale S. Gregorio Armeno (dicembre), festa (le cui dimensioni superano i 120 ettari), legata alla tradizione del presepe fu progettata da Ferdinando Sanfelice nel artistico napoletano, con mostre e fiere 1742. All’interno del bosco esistono natalizie nei quartieri popolari.

SICILIA

Caltagirone

Testimonianze archeologiche del periodo Da Marzo a Settembre, la Città offre preistorico, attestano la presenza di un notevoli eventi e manifestazioni centro abitato già nell’antica età del caratterizzati dalle componenti di bronzo. cultura, storia, arte e religiosità. Ellenizzato tra il VII e il VI sec. a.C., La Pasqua, con la rappresentazione della continuò a vivere sotto le dominazioni “Passione” e la “Giunta” che attira romana, bizantina ed araba, durante la l’attenzione dei turisti e la corale quale assunse il nome odierno indicante partecipazione cittadina.A Maggio, la la sua natura di “Fortezza delle giare”, Scala di Santa Maria del Monte si copre per la sua produzione ceramica. di un arazzo colorato di piante e fiori in Nel 1090 si consegnò al conte Ruggero il onore della Madonna di Condomini e Normanno che per riconoscenza iniziò la diventa palcoscenico per la sfilata di lunga serie di concessioni feudali e di moda internazionale: “Ceramiche, fiori e privilegi che la resero ricca e prospera moda”. durante tutto il Medio Evo e sino al XVII A Luglio, in onore di San Giacomo, sec. patrono della città, la stessa si illumina, Magnifica per prestigio ed opulenza, fu secondo una secolare tradizione, di devastata dal terremoto del 1693, ma centinaia di lucerne ad olio colorate che risorse suscitando l’ammirazione dei formano ogni anno un diverso disegno viaggiatori del ‘700 e dell’800 per la sua fiammeggiante. aristocratica eleganza. Infine, nel periodo natalizio, Caltagirone Nel ‘900 rimase importante e singolare diventa la città dei presepi con decine di città, laboratorio significativo di esposizioni di manufatti, opera dei propri interessanti esperienze politiche di celebri ceramisti e di maestri di tutto il rilievo nazionale. mondo.

Situata su un’altura del rilievo ereo- ibleo, a dominio delle grandi e fertili pianure di Gela e Catania, Caltagirone offre un’immagine di opulenza e intatto decoro architettonico ed urbanistico, ricca di monumenti e palazzi che ricordano gli antichi fasti. Cuore del centro storico sono le piazze del Municipio e Umberto I, già “Della Loggia” e “Malfitanìa” da cui si dipartono la splendida Scala di Santa Maria del Monte, la Via Luigi Sturzo, la Via Vittorio Emanuele e la Via Roma, risalenti all’impianto rinascimentale, ma anche la fitta trama dei tortuosi “carruggi”.

Le tecniche della ceramica

Italia

LA CERAMICA

Tra le possibili definizioni, la ceramica può essere descritta come “un prodotto ottenuto da materie prime inorganiche non metalliche, siano esse naturali (minerali) o artificiali, trasformate dallo stato incoerente di polvere ad un semilavorato, essiccato, che per cottura in apposito forno, diviene un oggetto solido”.

L'etimologia della parola, pare derivi dal greco ed è direttamente connessa con il nome di un quartiere nord-occidentale dell'antica Atene denominato “Ceramico” in cui risiedevano i vasai; nome che sembra derivare dal verbo greco “mescolare”, riferito alla prima attività di quegli artigiani “mescolatori” d'argilla. Per l'ottenimento della ceramica, si utilizza la terra (argilla o “creta”) mescolata ad acqua, su cui interviene: l'opera dell'uomo, l'azione dell'aria per l'essiccamento , il consolidamento del fuoco per trasformarla in oggetti d'uso pratico e ornamentale.

L’IMPASTO

Il primo prodotto crudo, già relativamente rassodato, poi appositamente essiccato, deve essere sottoposto all'azione del fuoco che contrae l'impasto terroso messo in opera (pasta), lo indurisce, lo fissa in forma permanente e – a seconda della composizione chimica - lo trasforma più o meno intensamente e ne cambia il colore.

A cottura avvenuta, gli impasti possono essere classificati a seconda o del grado di compattezza o del colore acquisito (si hanno così ceramiche a pasta porosa o a pasta compatta; a pasta colorata o a pasta bianca). Ma la classificazione definitiva si effettua tenendo conto di un'altro elemento, cioè del rivestimento (v. oltre).

TERRACOTTA

La più semplice espressione della ceramica si trova negli oggetti formati di solo impasto: cioè di terracotta. Terracotta è anche il nome dato alla prima grande classe di una divisione razionale della produzione: cioè a tutti i manufatti di una argilla che cuoce porosa e colorata e a cui non viene applicato alcun rivestimento (dal mattone al comune vaso da giardino, dalla statuetta alle terracotta ornamentale).

Ma la necessità dell'uso ed il sentimento estetico hanno suggerito fin dai tempi remotissimi l'adozione di un processo correttivo della porosità e del colore della pasta mediante l'applicazione di un involucro, più o meno spesso, trasparente od opaco, che tolga la permeabilità alle paste tenere, dia levigatezza a quelle dure, e dissimuli col proprio colore il corpo di quelle argille che non cuociono in bianco.

IL RIVESTIMENTO

Esistono numerosi tipi di rivestimenti, primi fra tutti le vernici e gli smalti. Le prime sono trasparenti e possono essere a base di piombo (vernice piombifera, detta anche vetrina o cristallina) – fondenti a temperature relativamente basse-; o boraciche e feldspatiche – più appropriate alle porcellane perchè fondono ad un punto di temperatura più alto-. Tra gli smalti, il più noto e comunemente usato è quello bianco, brillante, caratteristico del classico rivestimento della maiolica.

Entrambi i rivestimenti possono essere tinti con colori vetrificabili che, uniti ai necessari fondenti, si comportano in modo diverso e danno origine ad effetti diversi a seconda della temperatura e dell'atmosfera del forno in cui vengono cotti (ossidante o riducente).

Esistono poi il rivestimento alcalino – impiegato dai ceramisti nell'antichità- e l'ingobbio terroso, costituito da un vello bianco di terra (detta di Siena o di Vicenza) che si applica sul verde e che richiede a propria volta un secondo involucro impermeabile (detto bianchetto).

LA PITTURA

Anche la pittura e l'ornato a colore sono, nella maggior parte dei casi, dati da colori vetrificabili. A seconda della temperatura a cui vengono cotti, i colori si dicono a piccolo fuoco o a fuoco di muffola (e vengono applicati sui rivestimenti a circa 600°) e a gran fuoco (e vengono applicati sotto e dentro i rivestimenti ad una temperatura variabile da 900° a oltre 970°).

I rivestimenti possono essere di due tipi: Gli ingobbi: sono di tipo argilloso e si applicano sui manufatti ancora leggermente umidi prima della cottura; la superficie colorata con gli ingobbi, una volta cotto l'oggetto, risulterà porosa, opaca e non vetrificata. Le vernici: sono di tipo vetroso, impermeabili e lucide. Sono trasparenti, benché possano anche essere colorate, e lasciano intravedere l'argilla sottostante.

ARGILLE SPECIALI

Dopo l'essiccazione normalmente i prodotti in argilla subiscono il processo di cottura, che conferisce maggiore resistenza meccanica ai manufatti ed elimina l'acqua residua rimasta dopo l'essiccamento. La cottura avviene in forni speciali, che raggiungono temperature molto elevate, oltre i 1000°C. Il processo di cottura può durare anche molte ore, in quanto la temperatura deve aumentare progressivamente secondo curve prestabilite. Anche il raffreddamento deve essere graduale e seguire determinate fasi.

Durante la cottura avvengono una serie di reazioni che influenzano le proprietà del prodotto finale. Modulando opportunamente la curva di cottura, si possono ottenere risultati diversi a seconda delle proprietà che si vogliono ottenere:

 a 900°C si ottiene la terracotta, materiale molto poroso e poco resistente;  tra 900 e 1100°C si ha la terraglia, meno porosa della terracotta, che cuoce a pasta bianca ed è di varia compattezza, richiedendo così o una vernice piombifera o un rivestimento a seconda della temperatura alla quale viene portata;  tra 1200 e 1300°C si ha il gres, un prodotto fortemente vetrificato, impermeabile e poco poroso che ha una pasta compatta, generalmente colorata;  sopra i 1300°C (se si utilizza il caolino) si ottiene la porcellana, un prodotto altamente vetrificato, translucido e impermeabile, a pasta bianca, compatta e che richiede un rivestimento.

CLASSIFICAZIONE

Sono dunque due i processi essenziali che concorrono alla produzione della ceramica: la manipolazione delle materie e la cottura; durante questa ultima fase avvengono quei cambiamenti di stato fisico e quelle continue e progressive reazioni chimiche che fissano il tipo ceramico che si vuol produrre.

I tentativi di classificazione dei prodotti ceramici sono stati molto laboriosi, la terminologia è ancora incerta, le singole nomenclature dibattute e senza esatta corrispondenza fra le varie lingue. Si propone in questa sede uno schema di classificazione, da tempo adottato dal Museo e dalla Scuola di Ceramica di Faenza, che tiene conto di due punti di vista: storico e tecnologico.

Pasta Rivestimento Tipo ceramico nome esempi colore compattezza uso qualità nome voci comune caratteristici laterizi, t. ornamentali, senza terracotta - - architettoniche, rivestimento (opaca) vasi da giardino, etc. ceram. classiche porosa alcalino vernice terracotta verniciata figure nere e rosse pasta con siliceo vetrina o faenza silicea cer. mussulmana colorat rivestimento piombifero cristallina (opaca) piombifera cer. graffiata ita. a ingobbio o ingobbiata maiolica bianchetto stannifera terroso smalto o

stannifero invetriatura senza - - ordinario rivestimento alcalino salato con vernice compatta piombifero gres (opaco) verniciato rivestimento smalto stannifero smaltato pasta senza biscuit di vernice vasi porosi bianchi bianca rivestimento porcellana porcellana dei medici o biscuit di francese piombifero porcellana con rivestiment porcellana porcellana compatta boracifero vetrosa o rivestimento o translucida dell’estremo feldspatico tenera o oriente ed artificiale europea dopo bottger