Like the more famous Faenza in Emilia Romagna and Castelli in Abruzzo, Ascoli Piceno is a city of ceramics. The Museum of Ceramic Art was established in 2007 in the premises of the marvellous convent attached to the Romanesque Church of St. Thomas, in the heart of the historic centre. The museum is home to a collection of fine porcelain and majolica pieces from all over Europe and to 18th and 19th- century ceramics produced in Ascoli Piceno by Manifattura Paci and decorated with scenes of natural landscapes or the “Rose of Ascoli Piceno”.

In the 1820s, thanks to the initiative of Giuseppe Matricardi, ceramic art experienced a significant development in Ascoli Piceno: one of the most active artists in those years was Giancarlo Polidori, who experimented new techniques and introduced new decoration styles inspired by Art Deco. Polidori was also the initiator of a new ceramic wave in town that has survived to our days in the old town quarter workshops.

The Museum also features a laboratory equipped with kilns and available for those visitors who feel like giving it a try with ceramic decoration.An international ceramics competition is held in Ascoli Piceno every two years, which confirms how strong the tradition of this form of art is in this city.

Text by Prof. Stefano Papetti, art historian.

CONDIVIDI I TUOI SCATTI CON GLI HASHTAG: #visitascoli #ascolipiceno2024

AUTHOR: Prof. Stefano Papetti, art historian