Grottaglie has been a center for the production of artistic and folk majolica for five centuries. Its geographical position, of fundamental importance in the road system, and the clay quarries located in the immediate vicinity of the pottery town, allowed the establishment of a community of potters whose products were once marketed in national regions and the Balkans. The creation of majolica, shaped and decorated by master craftsmen from Grottaglie, represents an artistic-cultural phenomenon that originated in the 17th century and continues to this day. In the 1937-38 school year, the Educational Museum of Majolica was established, located at the State Art Institute of Grottaglie on the edge of the “Ceramics District,” with the aim of not letting local traditions be lost. The museum, consisting of about 300 artifacts related to artistic and educational production from 1887 to the present, 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 20th century. The last section exhibits works created on the occasion of national and international competitions.
Information about the Educational Museum of Majolica
Via Jacopo della Quercia, 1 c/o Istituto d’Arte,
74023 Grottaglie (Taranto)
0995666521
isagrottaglie@tin.it
Source: MIBACT
