Artistic Ceramics of Caltagirone - Caltagirone Majolica

The Ceramics in Sicily - Caltagirone "City of Ceramics"

The origin of Sicilian Ceramics has very ancient roots, when Sicani and Sicilians were masters from across Sicily.

The production of ceramics since before the Greek colonization. Initially were shaped by hand free, and only around the year 1000 BC was introduced using the lathe by Cretans, through continuous commercial contacts with the Sicilians. This allowed the forming of pottery turned and enriched by graphit and painted decorations.

A few centuries later, there was the establishment of Rhodium-Cretans who founded Gela, making it one of the most flourishing Greek colonies in Sicily. They handed the art of pottery in the area Mozia isle and Marsala for western Sicily, Riesi, Mazzarino, Ragusa, Siracusa, Caltagirone, Centuripe, Megera Iblea and Naxsos for eastern Sicily .

The existence of factories in these places is evidenced by the discovery of kilns for firing of manufactured under conditions more or less good, and by the many pottery found near the kilns that testify to the flourishing of ceramics in these places around the Fifth and Fourth century BC.

In the sicilian production are attributed with absolute certainty the crater of the Museum of Cefalù, where depicts a scene of Sicilian seller of tuna, typical activities in that area, and the crater of the Museum of Ceramics of Caltagirone, reached following the discovery of an old furnace in Caltagirone in 1948, which depicts the potter that work under the protection of the goddess Athena and documents the cult for the art of ceramics at the place where today stands Caltagirone.

After a period of decline during the Byzantine domination, due to fiscal policy and following the pirate devastation, the advent of Arabs in 827 gaves a new impetus to the art of ceramics, making the decorative art knowledge of this civilization, which crossed the most flourishing.

Arabs taught to crystalize pottery, learned to turn in Persia, Syria and Egypt, thus giving a new dignity to the art of ceramics island.

The process of development of production of ceramics, not stopped even with the advent of the Swabians and Normans, when Frederick II of Swabia, decided the deportation of Arab rebels in Lucera, not including those between the free citizens and craftsmen Arabs, which continued to remain the island even after the expulsion of the Angevins time Frederick III of Aragon. On the death of the latter (1327), now in Sicily dominates the technique and style Muslim, who in the meantime had adopted the "tinning" by the culture Sveva: crystalize pond-based or or crystalize lead-based.

Since 1412 Sicily ceases to be an independent kingdom, and then was linked to the Castilian crown, so plug valenziane and Catalan influences, following the inevitable contacts with Spain.

Since the end of the fifteenth century, and until the seventeenth century, is fashionable Italian Renaissance art, so that the same Spain and Sicily, is influenced and importation of Italian products.

However Caltagirone, being one of the most important cities of the Val di Noto for wealth and for his feudal heritage extension, saw increasingly prosper the art of ceramics, and while in other production centres as Syracuse and Licata this art was going to be more weakness cause of the continuous pirates raids, Caltagirone, because inside of the island and far from the sea, became the only production centre of Eastern Sicily, and lived there undisturbed until the earthquake in 1693 following which, for the need for reconstruction, many craftsmen refined its production capacity to adapt to a continuous evolution of styles and decorations.

In the nineteenth century, Caltagirone has become the biggest center Sicilian production of pottery and crockery, of which still exist in many antique shop, and then and flourish many factories of "cannatari", or producers of "cannate ", a dialectal term which indicate the wine jugs.

Between the first and second world war, spread increasingly porcelain, which come in daily to many families, and from the end of the'50s the introduction of plastic causes irreversible damage to "cannatari", many of them emigrated, others changed work.

In the late'60s, Caltagirone record the presence of 12 ceramists, where many young people find jobs left by the Regional Art School, directed by Prof.. Antonino Ragona, who has devoted his life to the study and research of historical and cultural roots, who have drawn these notes, then continued as director of the Museum of Ceramics of Caltagirone.

In the'50s and'60s, the date back more examples of urban furniture, still in a good state of preservation, achieved only by the same Prof.. Antonino Ragona, even from other distinguished masters of that era, such Pino Romano, painter and ceramist, Giuseppe Bonaccorso, Mario Lucerne, Prof. Gaetano Angelico, and still Professor. Gianni Ballarò and Professor Andrea Parini, principals of renowned Art Institutes for Ceramics.

To all these people, is due an important tribute because they had the necessary capacity and determination in order to pass on to successive generations of ceramist, the historical memory of an art looks good, and even more beautiful to play, and that still allows to raise without any doubt Caltagirone to "City of Ceramics."