Grottaglie has been a center for the production of artistic and popular maiolica ceramics for five centuries. Its geographical position, crucial in the road system, and the clay quarries located in the immediate vicinity of this ceramics town, allowed for the settlement of a community of potters whose products were historically marketed nationally and in the Balkans. The creation of maiolica, shaped and decorated by master craftsmen from Grottaglie, represents an artistic and cultural phenomenon that began in the 17th century and continues to this day. In the 1937-38 school year, the Educational Museum of Maiolica was established, located within the State Art Institute of Grottaglie on the edge of the “Ceramics Quarter,” with the aim of preserving local traditions. The museum, consisting of about 300 artifacts related to artistic and educational production from 1887 to today, is organized into a thematic and chronological path. The first section includes Grottaglie ceramics from the 16th to 17th centuries; the second preserves rare ceramic works from the Institute dating back to the early 1900s. The final section exhibits works created for national and international competitions.
Information about the Educational Museum of Maiolica
Via Jacopo della Quercia, 1 c/o Art Institute,
74023 Grottaglie (Taranto)
0995666521
isagrottaglie@tin.it
Source: MIBACT
