In the last post, we introduced the pretty and historic Tuscan town of Montelupo Fiorentino, located just outside Florence and its grand and long-standing tradition in ceramics. A typical Tuscan village, surrounded by beautiful hills, it is home to over 120 producers of its famous ceramics to this day but it is also home to the Museum of Ceramics, which is excellent at giving insight into the importance of the Tuscan ceramics from Montelupo in the history of Italian and European pottery. If you are interested in artisanal goods and craftsmanship, it is a must-see and is also a pleasant museum experience that is a stone's throw away for those who have found a vacation rental in Florence but, also, a little removed from the bustling tourist crowds of the city.
Montelupo is home to the region’s most important collection of maiolica of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which is located in the Montelupo Museum of Ceramics that was opened in 1983 in the old Palazzo del Podesta (former home to the town's mayors in the Middle Ages and Renaissance). However, it is also home to a Contemporary Museum of Montelupo Ceramics, which covers the period from the end of the 19th century until now and also displays industrial products and explores the role of design in ceramics. In addition, there is also an archaeological museum, where you can find older examples and more archaeological finds and historical tidbits from the town. Open year-round but closed on Mondays, these are a great place to sink your teeth into the town's history and its ceramics legacy.
If you're really very interested in ceramics, then try and come in June when the town hosts its International Ceramics Festival and becomes an open-air workshop where you can watch ceramicists in action and attend special events, such as concerts, conferences, and guided tours!
If you're really very interested in ceramics, then try and come in June when the town hosts its International Ceramics Festival and becomes an open-air workshop where you can watch ceramicists in action and attend special events, such as concerts, conferences, and guided tours!
