Grottaglie: Ceramics Capital of Puglia

I'm wallking down a narrow street in what is better known as the "ceramics district" of Grottaglie, one of the real gems of Southern Italy's Puglia region and nicknamed the "Ceramics Capital" of Puglia. A gentle breeze is blowing and I can vaguely feel something in the air brushing my skin: a thin dust of red clay -- typical sign that somewhere close by ceramics of some sort is being produced. In fact, if you dig your hands deep into the soft, rich soil of the Grottaglian countryside you'll note the dirt is a deep red. The perfect composition for clay and the main ingredient for terracotta. And it's the very foundation on which the town of Grottaglie has literally built itself.

Sitting just 20 kilometers from the industrial port city of Taranto, the small town of Grottaglie has remained true to its roots: the production of terracotta plates, cups and vases kept this small town on the map since the 1700's and that same activity keeps the potter's wheels and kilms of a dozen or so large bottega's (workshops) and an equal number of smaller ones still running today.

A great day trip when you find yourself in Southern Italy, a visit to Grottaglie offers visitors a chance to see an artisan-way-of-life that runs the risk of becoming extinct: the art of terracotta production isn't something learned in a school, rather the skills are picked up over the course of a long and exacting apprenticeship. Walk the streets during a typical afternoon and you'll see the "maestro" of any of the local bottega's laying their terracotta out on the street for all to see. In fact, why not go inside and take a peak! You'll be more than welcome. (and maybe you'll buy something).

Most bottega have between 3-5 craftspeople: at the potter's wheel or painting geometric desgins on the yet-to-be-baked clay. Interspersed you may see a teenager or two soaking in the vast knowledge of decades. Remarks Gregorio, the head of one ceramics shop, "...for the longest time, you couldn't find any youngsters with an interest in terracotta. Most had a yearning for the big city. The reality is that big sity or not, no one can find a job and all of a sudden learning a skill such as this is not such a bad thing..."

The terracotta of Grottaglie is known throughout Italy and certainly beyond it's borders.The ceramics "district" was for many centuries the bedrock of the town's economy. According to Grottaglieturismo in its heyday -- at the end of the 1700's -- there were over 50 terracotta factories in the town of Grottaglie, producing everything from bricks to tile to ceramic figurines and pumping out an incredible 5,000 units a day. The number of bottega's currently in operation has dwindled but the output of terracotta still remains impressive. Grottaglie has managed to become a focal point for tour buses and visitors from afar. But toursit sales of ceramic plates and cups pale in comparison to the numberr of terracotta products exported abroad.

Two main products of the Grottaglie terracotta are flower vases and jugs for wines. Although on this particular day I note an abundance of oversized plates (pizza-size) lying about.

To its credit, the town of Grottaglie -- with its numerous shops of visit - has been registered as a naitonal landmark in Italy as one of 28 cities famous for ceramics.

You may want to plan a trip around two periods in particular: the Grottaglie Ceramics Fair in August and the annual Nativity display each December. There is also a permanent ceramics display organized at the Museum of Ceramics (Piazza Maria Immacolata, 74020 Monteiasi Taranto
099 5620222, in the halls of Castle Episcopio.