Blog: Discover Italy

For centuries, the small Umbrian hill town of Deruta, Italy, has been celebrated for producing some of the world's most beautiful hand-painted ceramics. Walk through Deruta today and you will still find ceramic workshops where artisans transform simple pieces of earthenware into brilliantly colored plates, bowls, platters, vases and decorative objects. Many of the techniques—and even some of the designs—have roots stretching back hundreds of years. Known particularly for its maiolica …

The Raffaellesco pattern, renowned for its central motif of the benevolent dragon, surrounded by intricate floral arabesques in a bright color palette of yellow, blue and green, is one of the most famous and enduring styles of Italian Deruta ceramics. Originating in the 16th-century, the Raffaellesco decoration takes its name and inspiration from the “grotesque” style of the famous Renaissance painter Raffaello Sanzio, otherwise known as Raphael. In Italian “grotesque” is …

I don't know about you, but I love discovering Italian ceramics—whether I'm wandering through a pottery workshop in Italy, shopping at an antique store, or even browsing the shelves at HomeGoods. But when a colorful Italian ceramic plate or bowl is marked "Made in Italy," how can you tell whether you've found a piece of authentic, handcrafted Italian pottery or something that was mass-produced? After importing handcrafted Italian ceramics for Merchant of Prato since 2007, I have learned th …

Since the Italian Renaissance, there has been a long tradition of associating roosters with good luck.  This all stems back to an unsuccessful assassination attempt on one of the most notorious families in Italian history – The Medici. The Medici were a powerful Italian banking family that ruled Florence and Tuscany for centuries (c. 1434–1737). They were synonymous with the Renaissance, funding great artists like Michelangelo and Botticelli, producing four popes, and …