Grottaglie has been a center of artistic and popular majolica production for five centuries. Its geographical location, of fundamental importance in the road system, and the clay quarries located in the immediate vicinity of the ceramic town allowed the establishment of a community of potters whose products were commercialized in the past in national regions and the Balkans. The making of majolica, shaped and decorated by master artisans from Grottaglie, represents an artistic and cultural phenomenon that started in the 17th century and continues to this day. In the 1937-38 school year, the Educational Museum of Majolica was established, located in the State Art Institute of Grottaglie on the outskirts of the “Ceramics District,” with the aim of preserving local traditions. The Museum, consisting of about 300 artifacts related to artistic and educational production from 1887 to today, has been organized into a thematic and chronological path. The first includes Grottaglie ceramics from the 16th to the 17th century; the second preserves rare ceramic works of the Institute from the early 1900s. In the last section, works created on the occasion of national and international competitions are exhibited.
Information on the Educational Museum of Majolica
Via Jacopo della Quercia, 1 c/o State Art Institute,
74023 Grottaglie (Taranto)
0995666521
isagrottaglie@tin.it
Source: MIBACT
