Colours, colours, colours...

Yellow like the sun, golden like the sand, blue like the sea and white like the foam.

In Sicily, every cultural element shines with unique shades because the colours help us to celebrate the wonders that look into our eyes and to honour a land kissed by all the stars of the galaxy.

 

One of the symbols par excellence of Sicilian culture is exactly ceramic, an ancient raw material with humble origins that has become a jewel thanks to its glossy enamels.

Ceramic is a material that ascends from very distant epochs, when it was realized that, thanks to the heat of the sun, the dried earth became a base for making tools and cases.

Ceramics is not born in Sicily, but is settled there thanks to the wisdom of some masters from the East who brought along their journey their uses and traditions that later combined to those of the island.

The ceramic is made from different lands that mingle, they unite and reveal their secrets, becoming a precious base that gives life, if it remains rough or decoration, if it becomes royal. However, it always hides a magic that is revealed only when it takes shape in the hands of its artisan.

 

It is in southern Sicily that the craftmen are particularly skilled. Moreover, this is because already before the 1000s, several potters from the East settled in and found in the region fertile ground for the production of this material: good soil and woods to supply the kilns.

The production has then continued to the present days to the point that some places, such as Caltagirone or Sciacca, have become famous for the production of their ceramics and have made Sicily even more renowned due to its unique productions.

Some of the best-known symbols made in ceramic are, for example, the pinecones, which are said to be a good omen and an indispensable gift for the entrance in a new habitation. Still, the Moor's heads recall the link with distant lands and tell a story of passion that is one of the most recognized (and recognizable) characteristics in a Sicilian.

 

Apart from the well-known symbolism and cultural tradition, when I look at Sicilian ceramics, I think about the art of creating, about the desire to enhance the earth, holding it in hands, transforming it into something valuable. Making the earth become richness, poetry and uniqueness.

I recognize in ceramics a perfect, almost obvious, representation of the Sicilians' ability to make everything special.

I recognize the beauty of a simple material that contains a thousand words in its infinite shades.

I recognize my home and the reflections of many faces and many stories.

And what could represent us better than a piece of land that becomes precious thanks to love and dedication?