HELLO ITALY
Ceramics
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Umbria,
which is still partly connected to the most traditional agricultural
activities, in parallel with the latter preserves types of very ancient handicrafts,
some of which have continued without interruption over the course of the
centuries. One of these is ceramics, which, of all the traditional
artisan activities, is the one that, in Umbria, has reached the highest
levels of technical and artistic expression. Ceramic production, both the
traditionally artisan output and the type assisted by mass-production
systems, is principally concentrated in the areas of Deruta, Gubbio
and Gualdo Tadino. Without forgetting Orvieto, Todi, Cittą di
Castello, Umbertide, Perugia and Assisi. Pottery from Deruta,
which is famous for the production of vases, plates and ornamental objects,
is characterised by splendid white glazes and the variety of decorations."Alla
borrina" maiolica artefacts, with their fantastic figures,
are produced alongside the more traditional pieces using three colours: blue,
orange and green. The production of votive tiles preserved in the Sanctuary
of the Madonna dei Bagni is of great historical value. Gubbio, which was made famous in the 16th century by Giorgio Andreoli,
the inventor of "reverberation" or "lustre"
(the art of embellishing ceramics with special reflections of light), is
still home to an almost exclusively artisan production. The numerous workshops along the
town's streets are full of objects made entirely by hand, which show the
characteristic floral and polychrome decorations that in recent years have
replaced the traditional lustreware. |
Not far away is Gualdo
Tadino, which is famous for its kilns and the manufacture on the wheel of
plates and vases and has always specialised in the production of crockery and
tiles. Recently, in the Gubbio and Gualdo areas, the production of "bucchero"
vases and jugs has been rediscovered. This black ceramicware of Etruscan
origin is famous for its lightness. Places to visit: Regional Ceramics
Museum, Deruta (Perugia) Contemporary Ceramics Museum, Gualdo
Tadino (Perugia). |