Impruneta Terracotta
From the blue clays to the end result
From the clays that give rise to Impruneta terracotta: light blue/grey "argille", as typical as the pine woods and the vineyards.
To the end result: typically strong pink/red bricks, "orci"(large jars), plant pots, statues and artistic ceramics such as those of Luca Della Robbia.
Luca Della Robbia did not invent the enamel tin-glazing process but he certainly brought it to a fine art form at a special time, when Florence had a special flowering in the arts (Donatello, Masaccio, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and the Medicis lived at this time).
The most durable terracotta in the world
The beautiful pink colour of our terracotta is due to the high presence of "galestro" a clay with a high iron content: that is why an Impruneta vase will ring like a bell when tapped with a finger.
Once fired, these products, become as strong as metal. Therefore they can resist bad weather conditions, frost and ice in winter and become stronger and stronger in time, while other earthenware pots are fragile and lose their original condition as time goes by.
This "Orcio"(jar) is certainly one hundred years old and is not affected by winter or summer weather conditions.
Travelling around Florence you may find several examples of more than one century and a half old vases as you can see from the kiln mark and date. It is a tradition to print the name of the kiln and sometimes the year before firing any product in Impruneta.
Ferdinando Vanni Boboli Garden Florence
Valentino Paoletti Villa Torrigiani Lucca
The most frost resistant terracotta in the world
Ancient Kilns and Hand Made pieces
Little has changed since old times: some of the old kilns are still visible in Impruneta.
Men's hands are still working the clay and some use wood to fire it.
Robbiane
Terracotta pieces are named "robbiane" when they are covered by enamel: normally white and Light blue, but sometimes also with other colours such as yellow and green.
Robbiane comes from Luca della Robbia and his family.
Luca Della Robbia (1400-1481) was a friend of Donatello, Brunelleschi and Michelozzo :they worked often together in Florence.
After Luca, there were Giovanni, Matteo and others that made beautiful "robbiane" for any use. to Luca himself.
His celebrity is due to the superior quality of his enamels.
His white enamel is incredibly beautiful, brilliant and "right" in any sense. It is made by 3 parts of lead(Pb)and 1 part of silica (sand). It is spread evenly all over and this is particularly difficult if you consider the problems of distribution, the dimension of the pieces and the position in the kiln.
In Impruneta church there are two important altars with "robbiane" made in 1448 and all over Tuscany you may find these artistic pieces.
When you visit Florence you find these works in Uffizi, Opera del Duomo, Bargello museums or in the following churches:San Lorenzo, Santa Croce (Cappella dei Pazzi), San Miniato , Orsanmichele, S. Trinita.
Around Florence you can go to Peretola, Empoli, Pistoia,Fiesole, Prato or far away near Lucca Borgo a Mozzano, Volterra, Assisi, La Verna, Foiano della Chiana and S. Fiora on mount Amiata.
Abroad: Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Lisboa Lyon (France)
