Deruta pottery history: The aedicule of Saint Francis

In the year 1220 Saint Francis was on his way to France.
A detail of the ceramics decor of the aedicule. 

The third and last entrance to the town of Deruta, also known as the Castle of Deruta, is the "Porta Perugina" (Perugia Entrance door) which belongs to the contrade "Valle".

On the street that takes to this entrance from the main street, there is a lovely aedicule dedicated to Saint Francis. We show here a detail of the landscape of Deruta which is supposed to portrait the town in 1220, six years before the passing of Saint Francis (The Saint is praying on the right side of the ceramics plaque). 

From the plaque, which is part of the aedicule's ceramics decoration, we notice four sites of smoke and red flags. Hopefully the town was not on fire or subject to any invasions, supposedly the smoking areas are meant to be the exhausts from the kilns operated by wood supply.

But from what we know the first document evidencing the trading of ceramics from Deruta to the town of Assisi goes back to the year 1282 (a supply of pitchers to a convent of friars). This is the earliest date to which goes back the ceramics tradition of Deruta.

Therefore we go for the option of the implanted memories of the ceramics artist of the time, Mr. Amerigo Lunghi who painted the ceramics plaques and tiles on September 1927, who gave us for granted that ceramics factories already existed in Deruta at the time of Saint Francis.

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"Pax et Bonum" (Peace and Goodwill)  is the saying invented by Saint Francis and is also the blessing that friars still use when taking leave.