Artisan Ceramics

Quietly perched on a mountain, Caltagirone is famous all over the world for its production of ceramics, first started during the Greek domination, this lovely destination is nowadays appreciated for its remarkable churches and refined palaces and seventeenth-century villas. The value of its artistic and monumental heritage has been awarded by UNESCO that listed Caltagirone among the World Heritage Sites back in 2002.

Tourism and ceramics are the most important resources of this pretty town where every corner tells an interesting and ancient story: the name itself comes from an Arabic term that meant “Castle of pottery jars”. Plenty of extraordinary works of art are still preserved in the city’s Museum of Pottery, where some of the terra-cotta objects date back to the period of Magna Grecia. The outstanding quality and creativity of Caltagirone’s ceramics is best admired in the most famous landmark of the town: the monumental Santa Maria del Monte staircase, whose 142 steps are all decorated with hand-painted ceramic tiles, using the typical colours, shapes and patterns of the most traditional pottery production and art.

The ceramic artists of Caltagirone pride themselves on their unique art, each piece individual, handcrafted, painted and signed by its creator.