The art of ceramics on the Italian Riviera
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| The sea of the Riviera di Ponente |
A 5-minute drive from the town of Savona, right in the heart of the Riviera di Ponente, the Albisola area – made up of two distinct municipalities, Albissola Marina and Albisola Superiore - has been hosting ceramic manufacturing (mostly kitchenware) since the Late Middle Ages thanks to an abundance of raw materials from local beaches and quarries.
Kilns multiplied between the 16th and 17th
centuries, colours being ground in a mill located in the nearby hill hamlet of
Ellera (known for its excellent vineyards). Decorations included sea landscapes
(coast, flowers, animals) and sailing, as well as classic/Christian symbols
(from myths to saints and – later Christmas shepherds). Each manufacturer
devised its “trademark”: Genoa
Monochrome light blue decoration started to decline in the 18th century
(manganese pink was there to stay…), as production focused on simple daily
objects – mugs, jars… - which still feature in the collections of the Museo “Manlio
Trucco” inAlbisola Superiore.
In the 19th century, indefatigable Bartolomeo Seirullo introduced light caramel brown and black earthenware.
Kitchenware was exported overeas, too: cookware (manufactured only by big
workshops) and white ceramic dishes – mass produced yet elegant – appeared.
Futurism
(Italy’s one and only avant-garde art movement) was an intense season in the area,
frequented by artists such as Tullio
Mazzotti (a.k.a. Tullio d'Albisola), who in 1938 coauthored with
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti – the “Manifesto
futurista della Ceramica e Aereoceramica”, then Manlio Trucco, Lucio Fontana,
Giuseppe Capogrossi, Arturo
Martini, Eliseo Salino, Mario Gambetta, Aurelio Caminati, Emilio
Scanavino... In 1954 Enrico Baj and Asger Jorn (whose dwelling – now a museum - was restored
a few years ago) started international cooperation at the Ceramiche Mazzotti, i.e.
the wonderful ‘30’s building designed by talented Bulgarian Nicolaj Diulgheroff.
The Albisola myth grew stronger and stronger.
This is the fascinating world of tastes and crafts
that LiguriabyLuisa discloses to foreign markets and buyers.
Would you like to know more? Contact me and
detail your needs (be they tourist, professional…).
Luisa
Luisa
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