Il Museo della Ceramica della Tuscia is located in the heart of the historic center of Viterbo, just a few steps from the town square and the medieval district of San Pellegrino. The institution was established in 1996, thanks to the initiative of the Carivit Foundation and the Municipality of Viterbo, and is undoubtedly one of the most interesting cultural realities of the city, being the only city museum to have received the Quality Mark from the Lazio Region – Museums Office, awarded as recognition for its excellent compliance with the required standards and the quality of services offered to the public. The museum occupies the ground floor rooms of the seventeenth-century Palazzo Brugiotti, belonging to one of the most important families of the Viterbo patriciate, and is divided into five large rooms, with an exhibition path that presents the evolution of ceramic processing, in Viterbo and Upper Lazio, from the first unglazed biscuit forms to glazed ones, to enameled objects, up to the 19th century with mold-made ceramics for sweets. Most of the ceramic artifacts on display were found in the disposal wells, popularly called «butti», of the historic centers of Upper Lazio. These wells were dug into the tuff inside medieval houses and were intended to collect waste of all kinds, both liquid and solid, such as everyday table waste or broken utensils. This waste disposal method was regulated by city laws; in Todi in 1275 it was established that all citizens were required to throw garbage and all kinds of debris into cavities dug into the tuff, located outside or inside the domestic walls. In 1324 the same rule extended to Orvieto, but analyzing the recovered material it seems likely that in the meantime other cities, including Viterbo, had adopted this hygienic principle. In recent years, with the restoration of historic centers, many wells have come to light, returning, together with bones and other materials, many ceramic fragments, now patiently reassembled by restorers.
Information about the Museo della ceramica della Tuscia
Via Cavour, 67
01100 Viterbo (Viterbo)
0761346136
laboratorioceramica@libero.it
https://www.museodellaceramicadellatuscia.com/
Source: MIBACT
