History of Montelupo Ceramics

It is between the end of the 1800’s and the first years of the twentieth century that, rediscovering favourable economic conditions for the resumption of the production of enamelwork, Montelupo could once again dedicate itself to the labours of majolica, developing them in particular in the big Fanciullacci factory, followed by the appearance of dozens, and then hundreds, of small and medium-sized workshops.

Today, Montelupo Fiorentino is one of the most important centres of Italian ceramics, devoted to the production of the raw materials and of artistic majolica for export.
More than 120 workshops employ a total of about 1,300 people who produce the raw materials (clay and pigments), traditional ceramics, ceramics of contemporary design, tiles and terracotta goods.

 

The rediscovery of a tradition

Only in 1975, the beginning of the archaeological excavations aimed at the recovery of materials contained in the wastegrounds of the pre-industrial furnaces (excavation of the so-called “Washhouse Well”), which leads to the reconstruction supported by the necessary documentation.

The history of this centre of production, which was amongst the best in Italy and certainly one of the most important (you just need to see the range of places that were commercially supplied by this centre) of the whole Mediterranean area.

The history of Montelupo sets itself apart as emblematic of the history of Italian centres of ceramics production in general, in so far as that the chronology of its phases of development, periods of crisis and decline, correspond fully to the waves of economic, social and civil growth of our country.