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One of the pivotal aspects of the economy in the territory of Orvieto is craft production. In their finest forms the crafts carry on an age-old tradition to which the repetition in fourteenth-century pottery of archaic motifs of fifteen hundred years earlier bears witness. The history of crafts in Orvieto goes hand in hand with the economic, social, political and cultural history of the territory, something that holds true for most of the old towns in Italy. Of particular interest are the persistent traditions which provide a clue to the convoluted ways in which motifs, friezes, techniques, and inventions may surface decades and even centuries later. While our knowledge of the Etruscan and Roman workshops depends mainly on archaeological finds and inductive reconstructions, in the Middle Ages a mass of documents bears witness to the “civic” role of the arts. At times, as in the Campana del Popolo (the People’s Bell) of Orvieto (1316), the symbols of the 25 municipal arts were cast in bronze as affirmation of their centrality as the bell rang out its warnings for war and civic events. Of the 25 Arts or Guilds – Giudici, Medici e Notari, Mercanti; Lanaioli, Calzolai; Merciai, Macellai; Fabbri, Pellicciai, Sarti, Muratori, Procaccianti, Orafi, Erbaioli, Maestri di legname, Mugnai, Tavernieri, Funai, Osti, Ortolani, Barbieri, Vasellai, Tegolai, Petraioli, Macinai, Mulattieri (Judges, Doctors and Notaries, Wool merchants, Shoemakers, Haberdashers, Butchers, Smiths, Furriers, Tailors, Masons, Procurers, Goldsmiths, Herborists, Carpenters, Millers, Tavern keepers, Rope makers, Innkeepers, Greengrocers, Barbers, Potters, Tile makers, Stone workers, Millers, Mule drivers) – many are still present in an internationally renowned craft production. The most recent archaeological discoveries, together with in-depth studies of materials and symbols, make it possible to compare techniques centuries apart. Paradoxically this has given new life to our concept of the past, where symbols and images enhance our awareness of belonging to a millenary history that at times loves to repeat itself, as in the pottery motifs that are the same as they were a thousand five hundred years ago. “In the beginning there was clay and fire"“In the beginning”, as Alberto Satolli, architect and historian of Orvieto ceramics, writes in his Tradizione Ceramica a Orvieto (Orvieto, 1995), “there was clay and fire.” In the Villanovan period (9th cent. BC) these two elements produced the primitive impasto ware. Orvieto pottery however appeared on the scene in the first half of the sixth century BC with the production of a special class of pottery known as “spirale a stralucido” (shiny spiral ware). Towards the end of the sixth century BC objects with real decorations appeared, and human and animal figures appeared on vases of the “Orvieto Group.”Around the end of the seventh century BC in Orvieto the typical Etruscan pottery, the black bucchero ware, predates the techniques, shapes and decorations of Etruscan figured pottery, Orvieto bucchero ware decorated “ a cilindretto” merits particular attention. “This particular technique,” Alberto Satolli explains, “consisted of impressing decorative motives incised in negative on a small wooden cylinder (or it might be stone or terracotta) by rolling it over the soft clay of the vessel after it was thrown. The resulting relief decoration could be continuous or repeated depending on how the matrix was applied.” The first “silvered wares” appeared at the turn of the fourth century BC. In imitation of fine metal vases they were actually not silvered but were coated with an alloy of lead and tin applied without sizing on the more important parts of the pottery object. In 264 BC the city of Velzna was destroyed by the Romans and the inhabitants were deported to Bolsena where they continued to make pottery on the shores of the lake. It was centuries later that the cliff was once more inhabited. The first reference to a potter on the cliff – a certain Petrus Vascellarius – dates to 1211. The environment of the Free Commune stimulated the creativity of the potters who lived in direct contact with the artists of the great workshop of the Cathedral (from the late 13th century on) and pottery flourished in Orvieto. After the plague of 1348 (in which half the population died) and the political events that led to the disappearance of the medieval commune, a crisis in pottery undermined the quality although production continued. During the fifteenth century the Orvieto craftsmen, influenced by neighboring centers (Todi and Viterbo), began to make “pottery with slip and graffiti painted under glaze, majolica of the Famiglia Verde (or Green Family), decorated in green in relief and even Zaffer” (Satolli). In the same century the forms of the bowls, cups and pitchers gradually changed, while the iconographic repertory was renewed with decorative motifs such as the “shining rays” and the “ponticelli” while the cross-hatched backgrounds were replaced by a pattern consisting of minute fill-in elements such as circles, spirals, small tufts of stylized palm or parsley leaves. In the sixteenth century ceramic production came back to life thanks to the fervid activity around the new works in the cathedral (Signorelli’s frescoes and completion of the facade). From the second half of the seventeenth to the end of the nineteenth century the production of Orvieto pottery was limited to “useful” or “kitchen” wares, also produced in the neighboring towns (Castel Viscardo, Monteleone and Ficulle). The archaeological finds of the late nineteenth century at the base of the cliff led to a renaissance of the ceramic tradition. Authors of this new refulgence were the historian Pericle Perali and Ilario Ciaurro, an artist,. In the 1920s Perali founded “L’Arte de’ Vascellari di Orvieto”, a ceramic workshop with Ciaurro as director. Production was inspired by thirteenth and fourteenth century Orvieto pottery and the techniques, shapes and decorations were copied, although in a “modern key.” This renaissance – which also trained qualified craftsmen – continued even after the Arte dei Vascellari was incorporated into the FOCAC (Fabbrica Orvietana Ceramiche Artistiche Ciaurro) opened in 1935. Kilns of Castel ViscardoActive for at least five hundred years, the twelve kilns of Castel Viscardo keep alive a tradition that is still today greatly admired. The terra-cotta tiles and bricks are often still made by hand. The nature of the earth, with clay conglomerates, provided a fine raw material that supplied building materials to the patrician palaces as early as the sixteenth century, a period in which the bricks of Castel Viscardo were used to build the Monaldeschi castle.Thanks to the fact that the original characteristics have been maintained in what is basically still a medieval technique, the terra-cotta bricks and tiles of Castel Viscardo have also been used in the restoration of outstanding monuments, such as the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Aurelian walls in Rome, and the Piazza del Campo in Siena. The terra-cotta wares of Ficulle are characterized by their spotted green and brown glaze on an ocher-yellow ground. Production concerns “kitchen” or everyday objects such as large jars for oil, plates, cups, pitchers, pots and miscole. The origins of the craft go far back in time but also cover a wide area. Wood work in OrvietoOrvieto cabinet-making with fine intarsia was particularly well known. Today the tradition has been updated and thanks to the skill and inventiveness of the craftsman, wood has become the basis for sculpture and various kinds of objects used for interior decoration. Scenographic furnishings are today one of the features of wood work in Orvieto.“Trina d’Irlanda”Lace-making “Trina d’Irlanda” or “Irish lace” already existed in Orvieto in the seventeenth century and was renewed in the early 1900s with completely local characteristics, using decorative motifs taken from the bas-reliefs on the facade of the cathedral. Eugenio Fainais initial ides of perfecting the Orvieto tradition was subsequently concretely realized by Claudio Faina’s daughter who promoted the activity of the women who still knew how to make lace in the old way. Orvieto lace is unique both in its technique and in the patterns. The doilies, intarsias for clothing and linens are true works of art. It is hard to believe that these openwork patterns consist of nothing but a fine thread skillfully interlaced with the use of a short crocheting needle“Iron & Gold”Wrought iron is a craft to be found in most of the territory of Orvieto. In addition to domestic utensils, the blacksmiths made outstanding furnishings. Examples in the past include the chandelier in the Chapel of the Corporal and the iron gates in the Cathedral. In restoring farm houses or country villas the blacksmiths have also salvaged or reconstructed elements of the past. Just how accurate they are remains a moot question, but it has meant that techniques and skills that might otherwise have been lost have been preserved and updated.The art of the goldsmith in Orvieto also uses old techniques, such as Etruscan granulation, producing particularly striking pieces of jewelry. |
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