FAENZA – Italy

Faenza is an italian city of etruscan-roman origins, worldwide known for having developed a ceramic art at the highest levels, since the first centuries after 1000 AD. Faenza reached the peak of its artistic and technical fame in the 16th Century during the Renaissence age, with its elegant “Whites of Faenza”, that excelled in ceramic art and technique. They influenced potters not only in Italy but also abroad. Since then Faenza has become, all over the Western World, the City of Ceramics par excellence, so much as its name in the French translation Faïence indicates Ceramic Art. The tradition and culture of ceramics remains the vital hub of modern Faenza with its International Ceramics Museum containing splendid collections from all centuries and countries, its 60 artists’ workshops, the artistic and technical schools, its international events based on the traditional and contemporary production of majolica. Precious neoclassical architecture, elegant shops, fine restaurants both in the centre and in the green, gentle beautiful hills surrounding the city and all the ceramic context are in Faenza a perfect example of the best italian lifestyle where art, creativity, innovation and research meets landscape, history and clay.

Calanchi are particular clay hills that characterize the territory outside the city of Faenza. Widespread in the hilly areas of the Apennines, they consist of steep slopes devoid of vegetation, separated by sharp clay ridges, mainly produced by the effect of rainwater run-off. The Faenza ceramic industry is strongly linked to its territory. In fact, the proximity of the calanchi has made the raw materials, clays, easily available, favouring the production of ceramics.

In the Faenza area, ceramic production is an artisanal phenomenon characterised essentially by small artistic-historical handicraft ‘botteghe’, many of which are located in the historic centre of the city. There are about 60 of them. Tourists visiting the city and its surroundings are offered the chance to visit them and experience their production techniques, as well as the opportunity to purchase their artefacts directly. Faenza ceramics today offers a diversified and qualified production of handmade, utilitarian and ornamental objects, furnishing accessories, design, sculptural works and contemporary art.

There are many workshops and ceramics schools in Faenza that offer courses on the various techniques for working with clay. Courses are aimed at both professionals and amateurs and may have different durations, depending on the skills one wishes to learn.

The International Museum of Ceramics (MIC), located in Faenza, is the world’s largest collection of ceramic art. The museum was founded in 1908, at the conclusion of the great International Exhibition organised by Gaetano Ballardini.
The museum has works from all over the world and from different periods. A large portion is dedicated to modern and contemporary ceramics, which expands its collection every two years thanks to the international artistic ceramics competition ‘Premio Faenza’, with works from all over the world.

Viale Baccarini n. 19, Faenza
+39 0546 69 73 11
info@micfaenza.org
www.micfaenza.org

The Guerrino Tramonti Museum is located in Faenza in the workshop house that the artist had built and where he lived with his family. Here he worked from 1958 to 1992, the year of his death. On display in the rooms are approximately 390 works that, according to the artist, best reflect his career: an immense variety of forms, colours and a sublime expressive world created by an original chromatic sensitivity applied also to paintings on canvas and panel.

Via Fratelli Rosselli 8 , Faenza
+39 392 3011196
​museo@tramontiguerrino.it
www.tramontiguerrino.it

The museum was founded in Faenza in 2002 inside the sculptor’s historic workshop. It is an anthological journey through the work of Zauli, to discover the research of an artist who went from being a ceramist to becoming a sculptor without ever betraying his roots. In addition to housing the permanent collection, the museum has over the years become a point of reference for the dissemination and production of contemporary art thanks to its many cultural avant-garde projects.

Via della Croce 6, Faenza
+39 333 8511 042
+39 0546 22123
museocarlozauli@gmail.com
www.museozauli.it

The museum promotes the knowledge of the name and figure of Leandro Lega, with the diffusion of his work, in his multiform activity as an artist and animator of cultural offerings. A self-taught ceramist, he elaborated a personal creative repertoire that ranges from traditional Faenza styles, revisited in a modern key, to works of an informal and abstract origin.

Showroom: corso Mazzini 74/c, Faenza
Workshop: via F.lli Rosselli 6, Faenza
+39 334 7646305; +39 331 668 5134
ceramichelega@libero.it
www.ceramichelega.it

A permanent museum opened in 1998 inside the historical Bottega Gatti. Here you can admire a prestigious retrospective collection of the rarest ceramic works, created by Riccardo Gatti from 1908 onwards. The museum recounts the artist’s production characterised by an assiduous search for techniques and languages that were always innovative, as well as the production of unique works. Ceramist and sculptor Gatti distinguished himself on the national and international art scene.

Show Room: via Pistocchi 14, Faenza Workshop
Museum: via Pompignoli 2/4, Faenza
+39 0546 634301
info@ceramicagatti.it
www.ceramicagatti.it

Ente Ceramica Faenza is a cultural association founded in 1977 with the aim of promoting and protecting the activity and development of the ceramic art workshops of the Faenza municipality.
In addition to spreading and promoting ceramic culture with exhibitions and events, in Italy and abroad, the association organises the Mondial Tornianti (since 1980) and Mondial Tornianti in Tour (since 2017), also supporting Buongiorno Ceramica and Argillà Italia. Since 2020, together with the Municipality of Faenza, it has also organised the Made in Italy event, the market exhibition of Italian ceramics.

Piazza Nenni, 1, Faenza
info@enteceramica.it
www.enteceramica.it

The association was established on 5 September 2020, from the desire of eleven Founding Members to realise the wish of Maestro Torniante Gino Geminiani for a ceramics workshop where there could be the transmission of the know-how of the potter’s wheel, decoration, and the ceramic production process in all its phases. The workshop is a cosy and welcoming place, located in Faenza, open to artists, ceramists and enthusiasts from all over the world.

Via Nuova 37, Faenza
+393355611621
info@mtgg.it
www.mtgg.it

The Torricelli-Ballardini high school in Faenza is a vast and complex reality, with over 1,600 students. Among its six courses of study is the art programme, which was created in recent decades following the unification with the former ceramics institute
The high school is located in historic buildings in the city centre, which are architecturally prestigious and rich in works of art. The headquarters of the art school, which specialises in ceramic design, offers a collection of contemporary works of art worthy of display to the visiting public. Great artists have also studied at this school and the institute has established many contacts with the world of industry and design.

Corso Domenico Baccarini, 17, Faenza
+39 0546 21740
www.liceotorricelli-ballardini.edu.it

The Higher Institute for Artistic Industries in Faenza is a state institute of higher education in the field of design. It is one of the four ISIAs that have been involved in research and experimentation in the design sector in Italy for more than forty years, and which constitute a niche of excellence in the university system.

Corso Mazzini, 93, Faenza
+39 0546 22293
info@isiafaenza.it
www.isiafaenza.it

The IFTS (Higher Technical Education and Training) course entitled ‘Product and Process Industrialisation Technician specialising in composite materials’ is financed by the region with European funds and aims to train a very specific professional figure that is in high demand in many sectors, including the automotive, nautical and aerospace industries.
The training course started at the end of 2021 between Faenza and Forlì and envisages 800 hours of classroom lessons, laboratory, project work and internships with important project partner companies.

info@enteceramica.it

The degree course belongs to the University of Bologna’s educational proposal and was founded in 2001. The course is located in Faenza and aims to train graduates with knowledge and professionalism in the field of materials, both traditional and advanced, including ceramic materials. The Faenza Course in Industrial Chemistry is distinguished by a limited number of students, an initial strength that allows students to interact with lecturers and with laboratory practice, as well as to come into close contact with local manufacturers, facilitating entry into the job market

Via Granarolo, 62, Faenza
+39 0544 937909
segravenna@unibo.it
corsi.unibo.it

Argillà Italia is the long weekend of Ceramics in Faenza, one of the world capitals of majolica, held every two years on the first weekend of September. It is an invitation to discover the world of international artistic and artisan ceramics, with an exhibition-market along the streets of Faenza’s historic centre, exhibitions and many cultural events. The Argillà Italia festival also hosts events and performances, including Mondial Tornianti (world pottery wheel championship), spectacular ceramic firings in outdoor kilns, demonstrations, workshops and activities for children.

Made in Italy is the market exhibition of Italian ceramics that takes place every two years in Faenza on the first weekend of September in ‘odd’ years, alternating with Argillà Italia. The focus of Made in Italy is the market exhibition of ceramics, with around one hundred Italian exhibitors. Alongside the market exhibition, there are numerous events, exhibitions and animations: all in the magnificent setting of Faenza’s historic city centre. With Made in Italy, Faenza offers the public a cross-section of the best Italian ceramic production, giving ceramists and ceramic workshops the opportunity to showcase their collections, works and objects: from traditional colours and shapes to design ceramics, from homeware to jewellery, from small sculptures and works of art to objects for the table and the kitchen.

Decorations achieved by applying precious metals to the object’s glaze are fixed through low-temperature firing. Gold and platinum are preferred, and post-firing, effects are polished with agate stone burnishers.

Established in 1928 by Riccardo Gatti, the Ceramic Art Workshop has a history of innovative techniques, including metallic reflections still used today. Ceramica Gatti 1928 maintains a hands-on approach, crafting the entire majolica production cycle with a blend of traditional Faenza decorations and contemporary artistic craftsmanship.

Show Room: via Pistocchi 14, Faenza
Workshop, Museum: via Pompignoli 2/4, Faenza
+39 0546 634301+39 0546
info@ceramicagatti.it
www.ceramicagatti.it

Decorations are achieved by applying precious metals to the object’s glaze and fixing them through low-temperature firing, with gold and platinum preferred. Post-firing, the effects are typically polished using agate stone burnishers.

Founded in 1950 by Leandro Lega, Ceramiche Lega boasts a renowned artistic signature. In the years that followed, Carla Lega continued her father’s legacy, contributing to the Faenza tradition with a modern language, highlighted by the use of reduction lustre. Today, Martina, in collaboration with her mother Carla, sustains the family tradition, upholding the value of ongoing exploration into new and dynamic forms.

Via F.lli Rosselli 6, Faenza
+39 334 7646305; +39 331 668 5134
ceramichelega@libero.it
www.ceramichelega.it

Pottery making at the potter’s wheel, also known as throwing, utilizes wet clay for crafting round wares. A ball of clay is thrown onto a rotating wheel, where it is shaped using hands and/or tools. The interplay between centrifugal force and hand pressure forms the sides of the vessel.

The Mondial Tornianti Gino Geminiani Association emerged from the vision of eleven Founding Members to fulfill Master Torniante Gino Geminiani’s desire for a ceramic workshop. This space facilitates the transmission of expertise in the potter’s wheel, decoration, and the entire ceramic production process. It serves as a welcoming haven for artists, ceramists, and enthusiasts worldwide.

Via Nuova 37, 48018, Faenza
+393355611621
info@mtgg.it

Bianco Zauli is a technique to obtain a white with nuances, by adding wood ash to the classic feldspars of the white stoneware colours and also a selenium red that, when used at higher temperatures, burns its colour and becomes grey.

The museum was founded in Faenza in 2002 inside the sculptor’s historic workshop. It is an anthological journey through the work of Zauli, to discover the research of an artist who went from being a ceramist to becoming a sculptor without ever betraying his roots. In addition to housing the permanent collection, the museum has over the years become a point of reference for the dissemination and production of Contemporary Art thanks to its many cultural avant-garde projects.

Via della Croce 6, Faenza
+39 333 8511 042; +39 0546 22123
museocarlozauli@gmail.com
www.museozauli.it