Deruta flipped tracing papers

Tracing papers used in Deruta majolicas are what cardboards meant to Renaissance artists. Examples of cardboard usages come from Umbrian artist Perugino in particular but also from Pinturicchio, Raffaello and Michelangelo. 

Cardboards and tracing papers are indispensable tools for the reproduction of scenes and characters both in frescoes, paintings and ceramics. Such usage of cardboards may be admired in the frescoes by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Close-up photos were taken during its latest restoration (2000), showing the cardboard dots allowing the charcoal to go through the drawing's perimeter and leaving an imprint on the fresco's preparing surface. 

This premise is meant to tell you about the common use of tracing papers and cardboards by flipping them to recreate a corresponding character on the right and the left of the painting, such as a knight, an angel, a man, a woman and so on. By doing this, the artist could save time and keep the work going by producing more products and delivering them faster.

Yesterday I ran into an example coming from Deruta of such a flipped tracing paper usage: the same tracing paper was used for two different plaques (see below). You can tell it is the same San Francis image that is flipped on its right and left version. The same thing happened to the house located on the back of the saint with small differences. 

Photo credit: Claudio Ricci 

Photo credit: Roberta Niccacci 

The plaque with Saint Francis on the left comes from the "Madonna del Bagno" sanctuary, located not far from Deruta. It's a votive plaque created to celebrate Saint Francis death's 7th centennial (1226-1926); the one with Saint Francis on the right is part of an aedicule dedicated to Saint Francis on the way to downtown Deruta. The smoke you see comes from the furnaces operated by wood and located downtown Deruta within the castle walls. It's not a fire but an example of wealth and abundance for the city. 

My question is: do you think the ceramic artist is the same for both pieces above? 

If you wish to detect such a flipped technique in Perugino, Pinturicchio Raffaello or Michelangelo, simply take a painting whose structure has mirroring characters. Most of them were painted by flipping cardboards. 

I hope you enjoyed my post. Follow my revival journey with Cama on this blog. See you again when Renaissance inspiration meets me again! 

The post author's talents by Gallup are as follows (in order of priority): Activator, Adaptability, Communication, Context, Futuristic

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Meniconi-Dolgorouki Wedding Gift made in Deruta, Italy (PART II)

Wedding plate coming from the Ceramic Museum 
of Deruta, Italy

In 2016 one of our ceramologists from Deruta, Mr. Giulio Busti, led a lecture about Deruta Renaissance ceramics.  The event was organized by the local Unesco association downtown Perugia. 

A favorite ceramic plate of mine was on the event's poster. So that day I drove to Perugia to Busti's lecture. 

Besides additional information about the Meniconi-Dolgorouki wedding plate, I have learned several interesting curiosities about my town, Deruta, that I wish to share with you:

1. Deruta ceramics can be admired in 80 different museums in the world;

2. After the plagues immigrants were invited to come and live in Deruta. They were encouraged by the fact that their work would have state tax free for 40 years to follow;

3. It's towards the 1400s that human profiles are being added to the ceramic paintings;

4. The luster technique in Italy was part of the heritage of the towns of Deruta and Gubbio only. If the luster technique was in usage in some other parts of Italy it was only a rare example and much weaker than these two ceramic towns;

5. Deruta ceramicists were very attentive to events that happened in Perugia. Indeed Deruta was a castle belonging to the noble Baglioni family from Perugia. Works of art were created to remember events such as the 'Bloody Wedding' of July 14th, 1501 represented by a ceramic St. Sebastian;

6. Deruta ceramicists were familiar with the artist Perugino who was in Deruta 1476 to paint the ex-voto with which the Derutese were thanking Allmighty God and antipestiferous saints St. Rock and St. Roman for the end of the plague.

Additionally, Mr. Busti's lecture was divided into two parts. The first part was about the Renaissance ceramic tradition in Deruta. It was meant to introduce artist, scholar, genius loci Alpinolo Magnini (1877-1952) who made a change in Deruta by reviving the ceramic Renaissance tradition, which had been swept away by the Industrial Revolution. For this reason, I think it is very interesting to go back to my favorite plate that Alpinolo Magnini painted in 1903 for Mr. and Mrs. Luigi Andreoli, the plate used on the event's poster. Mr. and Mrs. Luigi Andreoli had ordered this ceramic plate as a wedding gift for count Meniconi Bracceschi who was getting married to Russian princess Dolgorouki on September 15th, 1903. Miss Dolgorouki is said to be the niece of the Tzar of Russia. This piece of information I have learned at the lecture besides the fact that Mrs. Andreoli's maiden name was Vanna Briganti. The Briganti family is one of the most important families of Deruta and now I wish to double check if they are related to the Magninis.

THE CERAMICS LOVING CUPS TRADITION IN ITALY

In Italy at the end of the 15th-century gentlemen started offering ceramic loving cups as gifts o love to their beloved on specific occasions: weddings, engagements, baby showers and ballrooms. These pieces usually depicted a female bust and a flying ribbon around it with the compliments "Bella" (beautiful) or "Gentile" (kind).

Writings were varied: “Be Ludovica”,”Lorenza B”, “Maria”, “La Giulia Bella”. Sometimes we find writings like ”Orelia B e Momolo suo servo“(tr. Orelia B and Momolo her servant), “Memento”, where “Be” and “B” stands for “Bella”.

In early examples and later on, we can find the sweetheart's name only or symbols such as the heart perforated by a spike; the heart in flames or the two hands tightened together. Indeed the etymology of symbol is an exchange, woven.

The loving cups' origin is related to the change of attitude towards beauty and love in these centuries. Love was no longer concealed like it was in the Middle Ages and men wanted to make it eternal and show their feelings. The tradition started in Casteldurante (Urbania) in Le Marche and spread throughout Italy including Deruta. 

Loving cups were produced in several shapes, such as plates, spout pitchers, soup cups, amphoras, double handled vases and salt containers. According to the festivity, each loving cup had a different shape and usage.

As an example, the loving cup as a ballroom's memento was filled with almond candies and sweets and dedicated to a young lady. This is apparently how the wedding favors' tradition started.

On the contrary bride's loving cups were accompanied by a tablecloth with an equal inscription. The married couple would drink out of the same cup to ensure fertility.

In the Renaissance, loving cups became very popular and reached their most rich expressions in colors, details and shapes. Local famous artists such as Perugino (1450-1523) and Pinturicchio (1454-1513) were taken as examples for patterns and portrait styles.

Local craftsmen took inspiration from these artists and painted beautiful women. They had several examples of “Bella’s portraits so that the commissioners could have a choice. This might be the reason why many women did not match their contemporary sweethearts.

Portraits were painted in blue, yellow, brown and green on a dark blue ground, and covered with a high sheen glaze.
Classical literature was also a source of inspiration for the floral intricate patterns enriching portraits, especially when dedicated to engagements and weddings. Some examples of loving cups are painted with mythological stories with loving subjects.

The loving cups tradition lasted for a long time and examples in the 18th century can still be found. Several changes in styles have occurred over time. Interesting pieces belong to private collections and are part of important museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of New York and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

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CREATIVE DESTRUCTIONS

The Castle of Deruta in the 1940s, during the growth of the second

Renaissance of the most famous ceramics towns in Italy. 

Photo by: Roberta Niccacci, ceramics plaque on the way to

Castel-Leone is part of the aedicule dedicated to the Sacred Family. 

MY DREAM OF BUSINESS AS A FRIENDS AND FAMILY EXPERIENCE OF THE CASTLE OF DERUTA AS A SACRED FAMILY (January 2009-September 2012)

♥

I like to "attaccare bottone", give
start to conversations and see where
they can take me...some people in Deruta
may have guessed it was just chatting...
on the contrary, it was one of my tools to prove them!
Ah-ah-ah. 

♥ I guess in Deruta artisans and entrepreneurs are still guessing what I wanted to do with them...nothing special except getting together with peace of mind, based on their opening their doors to me with all their heart. A the end I could do nothing except chat with them or bring them some business, a few crumbs compared to what my dream was, their doors not being open to innovation;  the best they can do is change the patterns of their traditional drawings, by calling famous artists to their workshops if they can still afford it, or think of selling as much as possible by taking the advantage of someone bringing customers up to their doors, thinking of doing you a favor, by keeping going without caring about the destiny of other fellow citizens who unfortunately for them practice the same art of ceramics, therefore they are "competitors".

I do not like to play games in the business,
I like to be informal and I do not believe in
business plans. I want to see what the
persons in front of me are capable of, especially
in the way of taking advantage of what is
being offered to them. Without rules, human beings
only think about themselves and pay back gold with iron,
the irony of fate. 

I do not have Adele's beautiful & professional voice,  but I have a voice in the
Deruta's  Skyfall.  

Of all the feedbacks in Deruta, I fell in love with a couple
of people only, a Derutese young lady open to innovation (but who
knows what her parents' opinion was) and
an artist coming from abroad who lives and works in Deruta. 
He is the one who talked to me about the need for Deruta to go through a
healing process. Shortly afterward I gave up thinking I would
become a Saint since I am not at the level of Saint Francis, who died in his bed,
I would have died as a martyr for sure. No, thank you!
SAINT ROBIN OF DERUTA can wait...

After my negative experience in Deruta, I firmly believe that the rules of cruel competition, which come from the Industrial Revolution, cannot apply to the Italian way of doing business, especially when it is a matter of Arts & Crafts, therefore involving values such as passion and love: cruelty in the seek of the lowest price possible and the strolling from one place to the other enhancing unfair competition and copying is one of the reasons for the "Sky-Fall" of Deruta. (by the way, I highly recommend the latest 007 Movie that has opened in Italy on October 31st. Javier Bardem is just great, Daniel Craig wonderful and Judie Dench sweet and beautiful, I want to be like her in my adulthood, brunette version). The consequences of cruel competition and business rules which do not belong to our Italian heritage have created a loss of authenticity and when charm and appeal happened, this was restricted to your own workshop, such as the factory where I grew up in Deruta like in a beautiful prison where I was subdued to the same dynamics of the rest of the community. This is one point. The second point is something that has happened since the late 1960s when in Deruta there were a few factories only (the ones that had resumed the art of ceramics at the end of the 1800s and a few of them that had joined in the timespan from the 1920s to the1950s) which did research, with a structure, departments heads, scholars, each factory with its unique style and many workers going from 80 to 150 employees. At a certain point upon invitation of the unions and the arts and crafts associations lead by people of Deruta (affected by the auto-immune disease, about which I am going to write later) little by little each former worker of the original factories has opened his own workshop which has brought Deruta from something like five factories of the 1950s to 350 micro workshops of the 1980s. The starting action of opening small workshops and studios was the start of the scattering and the separation which has brought to zero evolution of the products, by encouraging unfair competition and loss of research and development, the start of the decadence despite the success which has accompanied Deruta until the late 1990s. The latest negative scattering of the art was the opening of workshops producing raw materials and bisque ware, unfinished products which have been sold everywhere in Italy and overseas without the awareness that there are shapes that belong to Deruta only beside the fact that the quality of the bisque ware was lower and lower, with no comparison with the quality of the products inside the workshops where products are subject to control for the whole process and they belong to each specific workshop as a distinctive and specific part of the personality of the workshop. The third point is the fact that inside the workshops themselves artists are not willing to cooperate to become part of their beloved workshops in times of recessions, they cannot believe that love and unity can be revolutionary, they will never be aware that they were treated with love if the only thing they can care about is their money at the end of the month (and good money for many decades) for which they do not want to run any risks, when they speak about loving their workshop it is all fake, they firmly believe that working for you is a lot they are giving already.
Forth point (four is the number of death in Japan and in Italy we only care about uneven numbers, as a matter of fact, flower bouquets only carry uneven numbers of roses) is that when you are in difficulties and your workshop was all your life, you think that someone who has benefited from your love, passion, and caring in a mutual exchange of satisfaction and success will be available to do anything to help you, on the contrary, it happens the same way it may happen with a broken marriage, your best retailer whom you have served for thirty years just goes next door and shops from your father's worst unfair competitor who has given your father the worst time in the world for the past forty years: all this in the name of freedom of choice?
So after all I agree with my mentor who says that I must let them all go in Deruta and start a new white page without regret, without complaint, in Deruta it will happen just like in Como, where in order not to give up on their power and without seeing further than their nose, they lost their art and the Chinese took over.
In conclusion, I would like to add for those who are strictly pragmatic, that selling art products and genuine Italian products is not only a matter of "where, why and how" buy them, there is much more to it, there are people, feelings, and stories behind each piece made which make them valuable, this is the reason why I wanted to talk about the experience that has happened to me in Deruta. If I only could make good usage of the creative destructions which are in action right now in Deruta!

The Nickname for Roberta is "Robin" or simply short for
Roberta. This bird would have been part of the coat of arms
they would have created to commemorate my death, as a Renaissance Ambassador
of Deruta I would have deserved a personal coat of arms namely "Impresum".
Ciao!!! Goodbye!!!

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Original Post by Roberta Niccacci  - 
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Little Paris: The Art of Welcoming

Pope Paul III portrayed by Titian in 1543 at the
age of 75. 

Celebrating an important event that took place in Piegaro on September 20th, 1547, welcoming Pope Paul III who enjoyed staying in Piegaro.
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Last year in January I moved to the village of Piegaro on the border between Tuscany and Umbria. In my small house at the town entrance, which was once the toll house for all merchants entering the main door, I spend my days working on my research and enjoying learning about Italian Renaissance art and history.

The red area is the Piegaro municipality, the blue area
is the Deruta territory. In the Renaissance
period, Piegaro was an "Estate" and Deruta was
a "Castle". 

I selected Piegaro by accident because I am renting from one of my best friends and he happened to have a home for rent in Piegaro. What I knew about Piegaro was that there was a famous glass factory organized as a cooperative (I love cooperatives) and an American lady I knew the existence of from Slowtravel, she had remodeled the most ancient glass factory of Piegaro by turning it into a villa with apartments and she wrote on Slowtravel.
Little by little the town of Piegaro became very meaningful to me because it is located near Città della Pieve, the hometown of the artist Perugino. I imagined the artist on his horse riding to Deruta, which was a town of interest for very important family members in the Renaissance period such as the Borgias, the Sforza family, the Farnese family, and the Medicis along with the Baglioni's, owners of the castle of Deruta. Pietro Vannucci known as Perugino was a major artist of that time. He inspired the ceramic tradition immensely, besides painting a famous fresco for the castle of Deruta.

In the Church of St. Silvester in Piegaro
the chandelier in front of the altar was made in
one of its glass factories. 

So the first person I contacted when I arrived in Piegaro was this American lady, by email because in the month of January she was in the United States. Then I started exploring the town and found out that people were extremely welcoming!

the cathedral of Orvieto's glass windows
were made in Piegaro. In this
window:
"St.Paul with Angels"

Until the 1960s Piegaro produced
this kind of bottle called
"fiasco". Straw was
applied by hand. 

Indeed the piegarese are very cheerful and friendly, treasurers of a tradition of glory thanks to the glass factories which have been part of their culture since the 13th century with different productions. They are used to receiving people for the glass factories business, for travelers stopping by and from the fact that many piegarese expatriated and eventually came back to their land of origin, attracting people from the places they had lived in. Last but not least Italians and foreigners have been selecting Piegaro as a favorite place to move in and some of them have contributed to enhancing the town experience.
For a certain period of time in more recent years, specifically in the 1960s, Piegaro was called "La Piccola Parigi" (tr. Little Paris), because its downtown area was full of small selected stores with many different artisans, of social life traditions such as early evening promenades, which were a must for the married couples of Piegaro. The town was more lively than ever reaching its highest peak from the Renaissance times.
                                                                       
In my recent readings about Piegaro, I discovered that the welcoming tradition belongs to the history of Piegaro itself and it is also witnessed by a very refined and distinguished person, Pope Paul III (1468-1549), a member of the Farnese family in Rome, born Alessandro Farnese. Pope Paul III visited Piegaro five times on his way from Rome to Perugia and he was delighted by the place and its people. Pope Paul III is remembered as one of the greatest patrons of the arts of the Renaissance period, he was in touch with very important artists such as Titian and Michelangelo; to this latter, he commissioned the Last Judgement and the Capitol Square in Rome. Paul III is remembered as one of the greatest Popes of all time.

The modern glass factory in Piegaro has
specialized in making bottles for
famous companies such as Martini.

In the book "Storia di Piegaro e delle sue vetrerie" (tr. history of Piegaro and its glass factories, 1976) by Senofonte Pistelli we may read the story of Pope Paul III visiting Piegaro and this is a summary of it: 

"Pope Paul III visited Piegaro for the fifth time in 1547 and within that occasion, he wanted to thank the Piegarese for their affectionate welcoming and the warmth they expressed towards him by giving them three gifts: the wall clock for the Church bell-tower, secondly the exemption from a tax called "Gabella dei quattro Piedi" (tr. duty of the four feet) for the 18 years to follow and finally Pope Paul III proclaimed Piegaro "Terra" (tr. Estate), the highest title for a town at that time. Piegaro was honored with these presents on September 20th, 1547. Pope Paul III died two years later but Piegaro remained in great consideration at the Roman Curia."

Lucretia Borgia was among the visitors of the
Castle of Deruta. According to history, she
had blue eyes and dark hair (brunettes used
to dye their hair blonde at that time, a tradition that
we still have in Italy). This is a rare painting with Lucretia's
original hair color.

Renaissance wall plate with the writing:
"La Giulia Bella" (Giulia The Beautiful)
16th Century - namely Lady Giulia Farnese.
 (Deruta Ceramics Museum)

Ceramic wall plate with the Farnese Family Coat of Arms,
namely Pier Luigi Farnese, and made in Deruta (A.D. 1537). 

Farnese
Coat of Arms

Pope Paul III had a famous sister, Lady Giulia Farnese (1474-1524), known as "La Giulia Bella" (Giulia the Beautiful). Giulia Farnese was a friend of another famous lady of the Renaissance period, Lady Lucrezia Borgia, who is mentioned among the visitors of Deruta. Indeed at that time a  famous wall plate with the writing "La Giulia Bella" was produced in Deruta and is part of the collection of the Deruta Ceramics Museum. 

Additionally at the Deruta Ceramics Museum we may notice a commemorative wall plate with the Farnese Family Coat of Arms and dedicated to the election of Pier Luigi Farnese as Duke in 1537. The reason why members of papal families were visiting Deruta may rely on the fact that during the so called "Salt War" of 1540 between Perugia and the papal states, Deruta stand for the Pope, thus ending the dominion of the Baglioni family in our town. In Deruta as a consequence of this war we have been using unsalted bread since that time as well as they do in Piegaro. 

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Notes: "Terra" (Estate) was the highest title out of three: 1. Terra (Estate), 2. Castrum (Castle), 3. Villa (Village). "Gabella dei Quattro Piedi": Tax of the four feet apparently refers to a length unit= 1 'piede' ('pes' in Latin)=0,2957 m. 

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Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -



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IMAGO VITAE

Ikon with St. Joachim, Mary, and her mother Anne

JULY 26TH,  
St. Anne's Day

On July 26th in Italy, we celebrate the Feast Day of St.Anne, Mary's mother. St.Anne is usually juxtaposed to the message of fertility which is expressed in this ikon by her green dress. Anne means "favor" or "grace" and the name comes from Hebrew.

The cult of St.Anne existed in the Eastern civilizations since the 6th century and arrived in Western Europe in the 10th century.

Like the Virgin Mary, St.Anne is a religious translation of existing pagan myths and goddesses and we find St.Anne in many cultures. She is a translation of the concept of fertility and as a consequence of life, growth, and future.

In Deruta, one of the Churches is dedicated to St.Anne and is located in the borough of Deruta, the lower part of town, where the ceramics art tradition got started.

St.Anne was much venerated by the community of peasants and artisans in Deruta who celebrated this day with an important farmers market and attractions for visitors from out of town, in particular from Perugia. The tradition was brought back to life not too long ago, July 26th is once again an important Feast Day for the community of Deruta.

On top of the altar of the Church of S. Anne, a dedication written in Latin and dated 1744:

"STERILITAS FECUNDATA EXPIA • DEVOT [ION] E FELICIS •  ET CAROLI DETIRA TELLIS • ERECTUM A 1744". The translation to Italian is as follows: "“Per sacro voto di Felice e Carlo Tiratelli si erige questo altare nell’anno del Signore 1744 a ricordo della sterilità resa feconda”, in English "Out of gratitude we build this altar in the year 1744 as a memory of the healed sterility by (the families of) Felice and Carlo Tiratelli".

It was probably a thank you for the birth of Luigi Tiratelli, Carlo's only child, last heir of the Tiratelli family in Deruta, who on his turn had no children like his uncle Felice. 

The brothers Felice and Carlo Tiratelli were the owners of the Church since the late 17th century, in earlier years this Church was a hospital for pilgrims on the way from St. Jacques of Compostela to Rome (about 2,400 kilometers with Assisi as an additional destination) according to the latest theories about this site. The original entrance plaque to the hospital is dated 1594 and is preserved in the ceramic art museum of Deruta. 

The ceramic plaque of the hospital of St. Jacques in Deruta
dated 1594 and still active in 1649 according to Giuseppe Fabretti (1787-1869),
a Derutese born in Casalina (a locality of Deruta) and in love with the history
of Deruta and Umbria. It is through Giuseppe Fabretti that we get to know
much about our past. (credit: Ceramic art Museum of Deruta).

The writing on the plaque is in Latin, language in use in Renaissance times as a rule: "Hospitalis Iacobi Sub Regim Comunis" (tr. The Hospital of S. Jacques under the control of the Commune").

Around the mid 17th century, the hospital of St. Jacques was transferred to downtown Deruta because it had gotten too small and this is when the hospital was turned into a Church and restored for this purpose.

The man in the plaque carries messages of life as well, on his left shoulder he has a shell, a symbol of the pilgrimage, the shell, in particular, meant that the person had been to St.Jacques of Compostela in Spain. This shell allowed the pilgrim to receive discounts on taxes due and special prices on tolls to be paid on the way back. The shell had to be sewn on the mantel. The tradition still exists and nowadays pilgrims sew their shells on modern backpacks. Also in the origin, the shell was a practical tool to drink surface water from ponds on the round trip to and from the Sanctuary of St. Jacques of Compostela. Because this person has no halo around his head, we may suppose he was the example of a pilgrim (the cane, the bundle, and the Gospel in his right hand are additional symbols). 

Finally, in Renaissance art, the shell was the pagan symbol of fertility as per paintings such as the "Birth of Venus" by Botticelli, in this painting Botticelli painted the shell by inscribing it in the golden number.

Sandro Botticelli, "Birth of Venus" (circa 1482-1485), the shell is a symbol of fertility, Venus
is the image of life, Imago Vitae in Latin.

RIDING THE HORSE - DIRECTION: DERUTA

The votive offering was painted by Perugino for the community
of Deruta (1477-1478). The plague was over in the town.
Saints Rocco and Romano were considered anti-pestiferous.
(Deruta Painting Gallery, originally in the Church of Saint
Francis in Deruta) 

The castle of Deruta in a ceramic plaque of the 1940s  (photo by Roberta Niccacci)

If you are in the  Piegaro - Città della Pieve - Fontignano area you might think of yourself as belonging to the flourishing Renaissance history of Deruta; by accompanying Maestro Pietro Vannucci known as "Perugino" (1448-1523) from Città della Pieve to Deruta in one of his trips to the town of ceramics.
This great artist of Italian art history was born in Città della Pieve and died in Fontignano, where he is buried. Perugino was one of the most important local and famous artists who inspired the ceramic art of Deruta, together with Bernardino di Betto known as "Pinturicchio" (1452-1513).
Between 1477-1478 the community of Deruta commissioned Perugino a votive offering (that we call "ex-voto" using the Latin expression) as a thank you for the end of the town's plague. This is one of the reasons why Perugino came to Deruta often, painting his fresco for the town of Deruta.

Also during the Renaissance period, Deruta was a famous place for VIPs such as the Borgia and Sforza families, artists, merchants, and bankers.

Detail of a fresco by Perugino from the "Nobile Collegio
del Cambio" in Perugia (money exchange office)
Deruta ceramic artists took their inspiration
from this hat's floral swirls as an example. 

At that time according to available literature, there were about ten ceramic workshops, churches, a hospital for pilgrims, and a few banks with a population of about one thousand Derutese.

Reproduction of a ceramic pitcher
from the origins of the history
of ceramic in Deruta. 

In the same years Perugino worked in Deruta (1477-1478), elegant ladies used to come to Deruta and visit the castle which was a property of the Municipality of Perugia. Indeed in the late 15th century and in the 16th century, Deruta became famous for creating decorative floor tiles for Churches and Chapels. Examples are the "Cappella Bella" (beautiful chapel) in Spello, namely for the Baglioni Family, nobles of Perugia, and the benedictine Church of Saint Peter in Perugia.

Detail of a Deruta handpainted wall plate from a fresco by
Pinturicchio. The writing is in Latin: "Ab Amicis Iusta
et Honesta Petamus" (tr. Don't ask your friends too much)
by famous Latin writer Cicero.

Deruta ceramic history probably started in the late 13th century. The first document witnessing a delivery of pitchers to a convent in Assisi goes back to 1282, which is a very recent discovery. The tradition definitely started in Deruta thanks to the availability of clay on the banks of the river Tiber, which runs in the town outskirts as well as the availability of woods on the hills over Deruta, necessary for furnaces. The art of ceramics itself probably came from the influence of Etruscan and  Roman cultures. Rome in particular was specialized in accessories for the table and its ceramicists worked at that time along the river Tiber's banks.

Handpainted Reproduction of the famous work of
art by Leonardo da Vinci "Lady with an Ermine"
(By Romano Ranieri)

In the origins, colors in use were only a few: green and manganese on white glaze. In town, there are a few studios that still do faithful reproductions of this style considered as sort of rustic compared to the Renaissance style productions.

Indeed with the passing of time, the ceramic tradition evolved to more elaborate designs which are distinguishing Deruta. Namely creating historical drawings such as the"Raffaellesco" and "Ricco Deruta" patterns; with a wide palette of colors from blue to yellow, orange, rust, green and red. Inspired by Renaissance talented artists they started reproducing scenes, profiles, and decorations into ceramic pieces, imitating the noble art of frescoes.

A second Renaissance period of Deruta ceramics dates back to the 1920s, thanks to the passionate research of the savants of the town of Deruta. The tradition came back to life towards the end of the 19th century after a long period of absence as a consequence of the Industrial Revolutions.

The original painting by Leonardo da Vinci,
"Lady with an Ermine" (about A.D. 1490) 

Latin was the language in use in both Renaissance periods and also in use nowadays for important writings on decorative plates, show plates, and decorative home accessories.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria is the Patron Saint of Deruta ceramicists and is celebrated every year on November 25th. Her symbol is the wheel, known as Catherine's wheel:  Deruta is famous for round shapes and terracotta's most production is made on the kick wheel. This is what Deruta is famous for and why this Saint is so meaningful to ceramic artists.

Rue on top of the

tower.  this is where

the name Deruta

comes from.

Detail of the crest 

of Deruta 

Deruta ceramics go under the name of "majolica" or simply "maiolica". "J" in Italian is an old-fashioned way of writing "i", no longer in use... More information and curiosities are in this blog. Follow www.friendsofcama.blogspot.it, like my Facebook page to receive blog updates!


p.s. Piegaro is about 40 km away from Deruta by car, an estimate 50 minutes drive.

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- Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

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Rue as One of the Magical Herbs

Learning Something New Today
& Promoting Original Attitudes

Herbs were at one time an open-air pharmacy and nine of the uncountable herbs available in nature were considered miraculous in Italy because of their specific special powers. One of these herbs was the rue, this is why in our local tradition you may find it as one of the nine herbs of the magical bouquets for the Solstice Night celebrated in Italy as the Eve of St.John's Feast Day.

The symbol of a modern pharmacy store

By taking part in the workshop last June 23rd learning the traditions of St.John's Feast Day, I added more information to my knowledge about the plant of the rue.
First of all, let's start with the original description in Latin " Ruta Graveolens": "graveolens" is an adjective that means "smelly", therefore the plant does not have a pleasant fragrance, secondly to this, the plant of the rue may cause a rush to any skins, it is recommended to use gloves when picking it up, thirdly it is not possible to use rue in large quantities mixed with food, it may be poisonous...apparently one exception is its usage in distilled alcoholic beverages such as the excellent "grappa" out of rue leaves and sprigs, whose origins can be traced back to the first century AD (drink moderately). "Grappa" works perfectly as "The Taming of the Rue", if we wish to use a similar terminology used by Shakespeare for his comedy: "The Taming of the Shrew" (1593) whose plot takes place in Northern Italy, where "grappa" is produced.

The plant of the rue is where
the name of the town of Deruta
comes from. The original name in Latin is
"Ruta Graveolens" (De-ruta=tr.made of rue?
provided of rue? out of rue?
under the protection of the rue?)

The plant of the rue on
top of the crest of Deruta
(detail of a Deruta coat of arms
ceramics plaque)

The question is: why would such a plant be magical when the rue itself has such a bad approach to people (rush, poison, bad scent)? We may think now of what the belief about this plant was: its strong exorcistic power in keeping evil, illness, and fears away! The rue is in the shape of St.Andrew's cross which gives it a divine connotation (the yellow flowers are made of four petals facing each other and diagonal to a square's corners) and what keeps the devil away according to our tradition? The cross and...garlic! Indeed I learned that until about fifty years ago in Italy a remedy made of garlic with a small quantity of rue was given to children to deprive them of eligible worms from their bodies. Additionally, the rue was believed to keep fears away, therefore people carried this plant with them in a container on their chest or in a small pouch to their belt. Last but not least in the Renaissance the plant was considered as anti-pestiferous. This plant must be really powerful!

Example of a botanical garden, from wild nature to
selected growing of medicinal herbs.

Going back to the original natural pharmacy, the nine magical and miraculous herbs are listed as follows:

1. Alloro (tr.Laurel)
2. Artemisia (tr.Warmwood)
3. Elicriso (tr.Helichrysum)
4. Iperico (tr.St.John's Wort) 
5. Lavanda (tr.Lavender)
6. Menta (tr.Mint)
7. Rosmarino (tr.Rosemary)
8. Ruta (tr.Rue)
9. Verbena (tr.Vervain)

Each plant has different powers and usage in cooking and providing natural daily or long terms remedies within a world of pagan and religious traditions which embrace us with lots of love.

Compared to such an enchanting world of times past, of which we give here only a little example, modern pharmacies look like aseptic laboratories. Here chemical remedies are deprived of hope, dream, peace, traditions, on the contrary, we know that our immune system likes to be happy to fight any illness. Of course, the evolution of science in the pharmaceutical field has been very important regarding the efficiency of the products to defeat severe attacks from viruses and bacteria and provide us a longer life. As we know in the field of professional medicine and modern conventional rules the fact of adding emotions, feelings or some history might seem inappropriate, professionals might lose their authority, therefore pharmacists cannot change their attitude towards their clients, apart from rare exceptions, it is up to us to add value to our events in life, mythology and traditions will cheer us up!

Cover of the book:
"Oculists charged Polyphemus half the price"
by Dr. Augusto Petristo, the pharmacist.
As Dr. Peltristo writes in his introduction:
"Il sorriso è la migliore medicina"
(tr."Laughter makes good medicine".

In my life, I have met a couple of original pharmacists in Umbria: one is located on the way from Perugia to Marsciano and he is the only one who gave discounts on his products before the recent revolution of discounts came in, the second is Dr. Augusto Peltristo from Piegaro, Italy who has recently published a book with all the funny answers and gags he entertains his clients with. Dr. Augusto Peltristo is really funny and everything he writes comes from real-life in his pharmacy. Most answers are play-on-words in the Italian language, I do not know if it will make sense to someone who does not speak Italian. It is the concept that is quite interesting, the closeness of a sensitive pharmacist to his clients. The name of the book is: "Polifemo dall'oculista pagava la metà" (tr.Oculists charged Polyphemus half the price) with the contribution of Dr. Loris Ricci. There is a reference to mythology in the title of the book, which I really appreciate and tells me a lot about the attitude of Dr. Augusto Peltristo, who reminds me in the introduction to the book: "laughter is the best medicine". In the book, there is a gag about Deruta. Let me try translating and explaining it to you:

Doctor Peltristo: "..allora signora ha capito?"   (tr. Did you understand what I said, Madam?)
Client: "..sa Dottore sono un po' di coccio.." (tr. I am sorry, you know I am a little dunce/thick...)
Doctor Peltristo: "..ma che viene da Deruta?!" (tr. I guess you are from Deruta?!)

"Essere di coccio" is an expression that translates in English the metaphor: "to be as thick as two short planks", "coccio" literally translates "ceramics" in colloquial Italian, if you knock on ceramics with your closed fist you will hear a muffled sound, which is comparable to the idea of something empty and not responding. Ceramics means Deruta, which is the symbol of ceramics in Umbria, this is where the reference comes from. About any further reference to the quality of the people of Deruta I would say "no comment", I want to think it is restricted to the ceramics themselves, Deruta is where I come from and I can only say nice things about Derutese. I have no idea if you may enjoy the above gag, we are used to it in Deruta, it is part of our tradition!

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If you wish to receive the book please contact me at friendsofcama@gmail.com, I will be happy to send a copy of the book anywhere in the world.
"Polifemo dall'oculista pagava la metà": 10 euros + shipping costs+Paypal fee, if you pay through Paypal. Payment in advance. Revenues from the sale of the book go to the Hospital of Perugia. I bought my copy today!

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Original Posts by Roberta Niccacci -

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