The Living Museum

The "City of Majolica", a corner of a special world where the past is still alive, is great all over the world not only for its finished products of high artistic quality, but also because on the return from a visit to the same will be It is possible to carefully store in the "drawer of memories" a real "ceramic experience", which bears witness to a tradition that survives in every gesture.

Our factory and handicraft laboratory opens the doors of our production departments to share the techniques and phases of ceramics processing by offering guided cultural and educational tours.

The Cycle Phases Production of Deruta Ceramics

"A recipe for simple elements like earth, water, fire ... but above all the human hand …"


The Shaping

Everything start from a piece of clay and, through a special tool called “wheel”, rough material will become art! Perhaps this is the most fascinating phase of the entire production: the moment of birth.

La Foggiatura

The drying

When the object has its form, to become a majolica it needs care and above all of time. The first step is drying: objects created in fresh clay are placed in a room at room temperature until they will achieve the named “hardness of leather”. This important phase has the purpose of evaporating part of the water previously added to the mixture.

Essiccazione

The First Cooking

It will be done at about 1000 degrees in particular pottery ovens. Once time ago objects were cooked in wooden kilns, nowadays we use electric ovens. After one day we can take out the peace from the oven and it will present shades of red, so we can call it “biscotto”.

La prima cottura

The Glazing

Glazing has the function of waterproofing the artefacts and favoring their decoration. After about 24 hours, during which the objects are left to dry, they are ready to be painted.

La smaltatura

The Painting

This is the peack time fot the craftsman’s creativity. Every shades of colour will give soul to the peace.

La pittura

The Crystallizing

The final touch after the coloring of the object lies in applying the crystalline, a compound of silicates and water. Thanks to this glass mixture, objects acquire brilliance and strength.


The Second Cooking

The objects are ready to be cooked for the second time at a temperature of about 920/950 ° C. This last phase is called "Cooking of The Beauty". During cooking the crystalline applied previously will blend with the colors becoming transparent. Thus the created work will acquire brilliance and the colors will change their initial appearance highlighting their beauty. After about a day, when the oven is opened, it will be possible to admire the handcrafted work done.

"Deruta has created again ... and the story continues..."

Piatto