Italian CeramicsCeramic is both a beautiful art and a useful tool used to create objects necessary for everyday life. Italian potters have always made pottery that is useful, but always attractive to the eye. They are famous for their beautiful majolica, which is painted with great color and detail, using different styles and techniques to achieve different results. Italian ceramics reached their peak between the Middle Ages and throughout the Renaissance period, where artists created many intricate designs and scenes in their pottery. In the 13th century, the Italians imported many ceramics from the island of Majorca, thus naming the pottery "majolica". ". It was later discovered that this type of ceramic probably originated in Mesopotamia or Baghdad, but the name had already been in use for so long that there was no point in changing it. The production of majolica is quite similar to the ours at Ethel Walker, with a few differences. First, the clay is thrown on the wheel and dries naturally, then it comes out of the kiln in a terracotta red color, then is dipped in a glaze. smalto" or "primo blanco". Smalto glaze is a transparent enamel glaze, and primo blanco is a white glaze, literally meaning "first white" in Italian. These glazes dry quickly and have a powdery finish, so that when They are painted in detail, the colors do not flow or combine After being dipped in the first glaze, most Italian ceramics will paint images freehand on the pottery, or use the spolvero technique to trace with water. stencil small holes in the ceramic, where they will paint repeating and detailed designs. To perform this technique, potters will drill holes through a paper stencil and onto the ceramic piece. Then they will sprinkle charcoal in the middle of the paper......complicated. Usually potters paint transparent colors on majolica for a similar effect. Many regions of Italy create pottery with different styles and techniques. Some towns famous for their ceramics include Gubbio, Montelupo Florentino, Florence, Deruta and Faenza. Deruta is perhaps most famous for its majolica, decorating its work with motifs such as Deruta Raffaellesco or Orvieto. Raffaellesco, made famous by Raphaël Sanzio, is adorned with colorful patterns of dragons and mythical creatures. Orvieto is known for containing an image of a rooster in the motif. Most ceramic workshops in Italy are found in small family workshops passed down from generation to generation. This gives Italian majolica a certain originality that cannot be replaced. This shows that there is much more to Italian ceramics than the pieces themselves..