Deruta, Italy

The Table Lamp Collection

Deruta

Not far from history-rich San Francisco's Assisi, Maria degli Angeli (that gave name to Los Angeles) and the worlds' best living-in city of Todi (*), 50 miles south of Florence and 70 miles north of Rome, between Perugia and the world-famous Orvieto, lies Deruta, a sparkling town, known the world over for an art that has roots that begin with civilization itself: Ceramics.

The town sits at the bifurcation of some of the most beautiful sceneries that can be imagined; the Tiber river that further down bathes the heart of Rome and that here caresses languid shores immersed in green forests, the luscious Umbrian hills that in early spring become spattered in dazzling red by the undulating poppies and that in late summer fill with the intense yellow of heat-seeking sunflowers, the intense perfume of mature hay and the ever changing fields where animals still run free from constrictions and chickens peg their ways through centuries-old yards filled with charm and penetrating perfumes.

Deruta has been the cradle of Italian ceramics since the XII century. Its valued hand-made pieces are present in museums across the globe and its best production often becomes an antique in a matter of years, hammered at high prices for the pleasure of museums and amateurs alike in the worlds’ most prestigious auction houses. The 50 or so manufacturers and 200 front shops produce about 30% of all Italian pottery.

For centuries ceramics manufacturers have continued to work in the traditional style; hand producing their ware and following the designs and patterns of their ancestors. The modern kilns were only introduced in recent times; computerization made it possible to fire the pottery at highly controlled temperatures, reducing the waste to almost zero. Uncooked pottery and pigments are highly unstable and ceramists of the past suffered heavily from misfiring and discolouration. Apart from this and the recent introduction of the full palette of colours also for ceramists, most shops work in the traditional style with skills that have been passed from father to son over the centuries. When buying Deruta be careful of imitations though; the best and most reliable shops will always guarantee that their production is from Deruta but, given its success, copies and imports from third countries proliferate.

If you decide to visit this beautiful and most interesting town, ask the shop owner about their production facilities. In most situations they will be happy to show you around their workshop. It is an unforgettable experience to see the turner at work and the artist working on a pattern to create shape and beauty out of what was, at the beginning, a handful of plain moulded earth.

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(*) Quote: Annual Reward, Kentucky University, USA