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 structure 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 institutions in the city, unique among the city’s museums to have obtained the Quality Mark from the Lazio Region – Museum Office, awarded as recognition for the 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, once 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 production in Viterbo and Upper Lazio, from the first unglazed bisque forms to glazed pieces, to enameled objects, up to the nineteenth century with molded ceramics for sweets. Most of the ceramic artifacts on display were found in disposal wells, popularly known as “butti,” of the historic centers of Upper Lazio. These are wells dug into tuff inside medieval houses, intended to collect all kinds of waste, liquids and solids, such as everyday tableware or broken utensils. This method of waste disposal 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 in the tuff, located outside or inside the domestic walls. In 1324 the same rule was extended to Orvieto, but it seems likely, also analyzing the recovered material, that in the meantime other cities, including Viterbo, had adopted this hygienic principle. In recent years, with the renovation of historic centers, many wells have come to light returning, along with bones and other materials, many ceramic fragments, now patiently reconstructed by restorers.
Information about Museo della ceramica della Tuscia
Via Cavour, 67
01100 Viterbo (Viterbo)
0761346136
laboratorioceramica@libero.it
https://www.museodellaceramicadellatuscia.com/
Source: MIBACT
