RuvidaMente
EMILIA ROMAGNA
"Ceramics" is one of the most important industrial realities in Emilia Romagna. There is no country in the world where tiles produced in Sassuolo, in the province of Modena, and Casalgrande, in the province of Reggio Emilia, are not exported. It is not an industry born from nothing, but the happy evolution of a set of elements – technique, culture, tradition, manual skills – that have developed over the centuries in the artisanal production of ceramic artifacts, both for common use and for art. Unlike what often happens in these cases, in this region the transition from craftsmanship to industry has not led to the succumbing of the former to the latter and the two sectors thrive in parallel, albeit with completely different market sizes.
Historically, it all began in Faenza, where the craftsmanship of artistic ceramics has such an ancient and consolidated reputation that in the languages of half of Europe the name of the city has become synonymous with "majolica" and even in the jargon of the informed and insiders for "faenze", regardless of where they are produced, we mean only terracotta ceramics glazed in white with tin oxide and decorated with bright colors.
The historical memory of this activity that has been perpetuated for over eight centuries is the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza, where local historical productions are compared with pieces from all over the world. All around, in the streets of the historic center, there is a swarm of shops where vases of the most disparate shapes are formed on the lathe which will then be decorated by hand and fired according to traditional techniques. Much of the production reproduces the classic shapes and decorations of Faenza ceramics, inspired above all by the medieval and Renaissance periods, but productions in the name of creativity are also developing strongly, to which internationally renowned contemporary artists offer a valuable contribution.
Faenza, however, does not hold an absolute monopoly on handcrafted ceramics. Interesting realities are still vital in the province of Parma, in particular in Noceto, known for its pharmacy jars, and Ferlaro Collecchio, where a particular style has developed, characterized by white backgrounds with decorations ranging from rust to intense blue. Finally, we should not forget the traditional mugs once prevailing in the taverns and popular trattorias, which today constitute the main production of the shops of Imola.
LATIUM
For the ancient Romans, terracotta was more or less the equivalent of our plastic: a ductile element, easily formed and "bendable" to the various needs of trade, perfect, with small tricks, to store and transport everything, from oil to wine, grain, spices, in ships as well as in markets and homes. They were functional and rustic objects, aimed solely at the optimal solution of a problem. This craft trend has never been interrupted and even today, especially south of Rome, in the areas of Pontecorvo, Arpino and Fiuggi, in the province of Frosinone, the production of cold-decorated vases and amphorae with red earth motifs is perpetuated, which over time has been joined by an assortment of terracotta objects ranging from ashtrays to figurines for nativity scenes, to the tiles, to the zoomorphic masks.
In northern Lazio, on the other hand, long before the Roman civilization was established, the Etruscans dedicated themselves to the production of much more refined ceramics, where aesthetic research often prevailed over the function of the object.
It is no coincidence, therefore, that the largest production of artistic ceramics in the region is still concentrated in the same areas, in particular in the ancient towns of Tarquinia and Civita Castellana, in the province of Viterbo, where the laboratories dedicated to the production of replicas of precious Etruscan finds alternate with ceramists totally devoted to artistic ceramics, free from any artistic canon of the past.
The province of Viterbo, however, is also able to give satisfaction to those looking for more everyday objects: in the areas of Acquapendente, Tuscania and Vetralla there are numerous artisans dedicated to the production of rustic pottery, such as pots, mugs, colanders, pans, vases, etc., of excellent workmanship and at an absolutely affordable price.
LIGURIA
The beginnings of Albissola ceramics, characterized by the typical decoration of ornaments or blue figures obtained with cobalt oxide, on a white or gray-blue background date back to around the twelfth century. In the sixteenth century, under the Republic of Genoa, this craft activity experienced a great development, both qualitative and quantitative, thanks above all to the work of famous families of artists who allowed the majolica of Albissola to establish itself internationally. In this period cultural exchanges began and the characteristics of the production were refined with high levels of expressive effectiveness. After the mid-eighteenth century, the traditional blue monochrome was transformed and enriched with manganese purple, manganese pink (called Levantino) and light-brown colors (called Seirullo).
In the 19th century, competition from nascent industrial production created a radical transformation of Savona craftsmanship.
On the one hand, the new popular ceramics were born, with black spots and very wide diffusion, on the other an exquisitely artistic ceramic.
In the twentieth century, Albissola ceramics became material for artistic expressions of the avant-garde, first and foremost Futurism, and even today Albissola Marina is the pole of attraction for many international artists who work at the kilns of the coastal town.
A splendid testimony to this is the Albissola promenade consisting of twenty ceramic panels made by artists of the caliber of Giuseppe Capogrossi, Emanuele Luzzati, Lucio Fontana and other leading exponents of contemporary art.
CERAMICS AND TERRACOTTA IN
[Abruzzo•Basilicata] [Calabria•Campania] [Emilia•Latium•Liguria]
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