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What is Caltagirone pottery?
Decorative Pottery | thatsArte.com Finely handcrafted, genuinely Italian Caltagirone is one of the most lively Baroque towns in central Sicily. It’s known in Italy as “The city of Sicilian ceramics ” due to its thousand-year-old tradition. The name itself – Caltagirone – derives from an Arabic word meaning the Castle or Fortress of the vases.
What to do in Caltagirone?
Nowadays, besides the traditional and lively production of pottery, both functional and decorative, Caltagirone is also famous for the ceramic whistles and the Presepi, nativity scenes made with terracotta or ceramic characters and accessories, which carefully revive the daily life of simple people over the centuries.
What is the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte?
The main landmark of the city is the 142-step monumental Staircase of Santa Maria del Monte, built from 1608 in the old part of the town. The peculiarity is that each step is decorated with different hand-decorated ceramics, using styles and figures derived from the millennial tradition of pottery making.
What can you find in Caltagirone?
In the shops, you’ll find large-scale vases that resemble the heads of kings, queens, and nobles. Historical reproductions of Caltagirone ceramics of the 1700s and 1800s include pharmacy jars, plates with religious and mythological scenes, and decorative tiles.
What is ceramic art in Sicily?
On Sicily, ceramic art is deeply rooted in time. The ancient Phoenicians and Greeks brought their artisanal traditions to the island, creating amphorae, kraters, kylixes, and other typical ancient wares using the ruddy earth and painted with styled black and red figures.
What happens to Caltagirone’s artisans when the weather gets too hot?
When the heat reaches toward triple digits Fahrenheit on a typical summer afternoon, the dozens of Caltagirone’s artisans retreat beneath the awnings of their shops, quietly painting colorful designs on ceramic pots, waiting for the town to come alive again as the sun goes down.