CALTAGIRONE
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Caltagirone, in the province of Catania, is a
city of some 39,000 inhabitants.
The via Roma, the city thoroughfare, bisects
the town into two units, running up to the well-known stairway of S. Maria del
Monte. It is lined with some of the city’s most interesting buildings, many
with majolica decorations. Near its start, on the left, begins the elegant
balustraded enclosure of the Villa Comunale (public garden) and the Teatrino
(housing the Ceramics Museum).
Villa Comunale – It is a beautiful garden
designed by the architect Basile at the half of the 19th century
modelled on the English gardens. The edge with via Roma is marked by an
ornamented balustrade topped with vases with disturbingly devilish faces
alternated with bright green pine-cones and majolica light stands. The garden
is threaded by a series of shaded pathways which open out into secluded spaces
ornamented by ceramic sculptures, figures and fountains. The most impressive
open area is graced with a delightful bandstand decorated with Moorish-looking
elements and glazed panels of majolica.
Museo della Ceramica – Housed within the
Teatrino, a 1700’s building decorated with majolica, the Ceramics Museum traces
the history of the local ceramic industry from the Prehistory to the early
1900’s. The diffusion and importance of moulded clay is exemplified by an
elegant Krater of the 5th century BC bearing a potter working at his
wheel being watched by a young apprentice. The 17th century is
notably represented, with albarello drug jars painted in shades of yellow, blue
and green, amphorae and vases with medallions depicting religious or profane
subjects.
Furhter along via Roma, on the right hand side,
is the splendid balcony of Casa Ventimiglia, named after the local artist
responsible for its maiolica decoration, supported on richly decorated brackets
bearing masks and gargoyles. Past the Tondo Vecchio, a curved stone and brick
building, sits (on the right) the imposing façade of the church of S. Francesco
d’Assisi and, beyond it, the majolica bridge, also named after St. Francis,
which carries the road into the very heart of the town.
Beyond the little church of Sant’Agata, the seat of the ceramicists’ confraternity, stands an austere prison built under the Bourbon rule.
Carcere Borbonico – The Bourbon Prison is an
imposing square sandstone building recently restored. It was built at the end
of the 1700’s by Sicilian architect Natale Bonajuto and used as a prison for
about a century. It now houses a small city museum that allows access to its
ponderous interior.
Museo Civico – The Town Museum hosts, on the
second floor, a permanent exhibition of contemporary majolica works. One room
harbours the gilt wood and silver litter of San Giacomo that continued to be
used in processions on 25 July until 1966. Note the caryatids’ delicate facial
features. The third room is dedicated to the Vaccaros, two generations of
painters active during the 19th century. Mario Vaccaro’s Little Girl
Praying is especially evocative. The first floor accomodates an art-gallery
displaying works by Sicilian artists.
Piazza Umberto I - The most prominent building facing onto the square is the Duomo
di San Giuliano, a great Baroque edifice that has been extensively refurbished over
the years, notably the replacement of its whole front in the early 1900’s. This
comes into view from the
steps below Santa Maria del Monte, at the foot of which, on the left, stands
the Palazzo Senatorio with the courtyard Corte Capitaniale, a fine specimen of
early civic building by one of the Gaginis in 1601. To the right, a stairway
leads up to the Chiesa del Gesù, containing the precious Deposition by Filippo
Paladini (third chapel on the left). Behind the building rise the church of S.
Chiara, with its elegant façade attributed to Rosario Gagliardi (18th
century), and, beyond this, the early 1900’s Officina Elettrica whose façade
was designed by Ernesto Basile.
Return to Piazza Umberto I.
Scala di S. Maria del Monte - This long flight
of steps connects the old (at the top) city, the seat of the religious
authority, and the new one, where most public offices are located. On either
side of this axis lie the two old quarters of San Giorgio and San Giacomo, characterized
by narrow streets and concealing fine, mostly religious, buildings. The 142
stair treads are complemented by highly decorative multi-colored maiolica tile
uprights bearing various combinations of geometric and organic designs inspired
by the animal kingdom, echoing moorish, norman, spanish, baroque or some other
more contemporary influence. Once a year the stairway is brought to life by a
multitude of flickering little colored candles which pick out a kalediscope of
ever changing patterns: swirls, volutes, plant tendrils, female figures and the
recurring emblem of the town, an eagle emblazoned with a crossed shield. This
fabulous spectacle – when thousands of little candles wrapped in red, yellow or
green paper are placed on the steps and lit – takes place on the nights of San
Giacomo, 24 and 25 July. At the top of the stairway, sits the Mother Church of
Santa Maria del Monte, the former headquarter of the religious authority. Its
high altar is graced with a 1200’s painting on panel of the Madonna di Conadimini.
San Giorgio and San Giacomo quarters – At the
foot of the stairway begins, to right, via Luigi Sturzo, lined with some
beautiful buildings, among which are the Palazzo della Magnolia (no. 74)
ornamented with an opulent terracotta decoration by Enrico Vella. Just beyond
it are the 1800’s churches of S. Domenico and SS. Salvatore, the latter
containing the mausoleum of politician Don Luigi Sturzo and a Virgin with the
Child by Antonello Gagini. At the end of the street stands the church of San Giorgio
dating from between the 11th and 13th centuries. It
conserves the panel painting of the Mystery of the Trinity, attributed to the
Flemish artist Roger van der Weyden.
On the left
side of the stairway, begins via Vittorio Emanuele, leading to the Basilica of
S. Giacomo, the patron saint of Caltagirone, preserving a silver casket by
Gagini, containing the relics of the titular saint.
ON THE EDGE
OF TOWN
A stroll through the typical back streets of
the old quarters on the periphery of town will reveal various unexpected
surprises, like the neo-Gothic façade of the church of San Pietro (in the
district of the same name), complete with majolica decoration.
Chiesa dei Cappuccini – Located on the Eastern
edge of the city, the church contains a lovely altarpiece by Filippo Paladino,
portraying the Virgin Hodegetria being carried on the shoulders of Basilian
monks. On the left side of the nave, is a Deposition by Fra’ Semplice da
Verona. Next to the church stands an art-gallery displaying paintings ranging
in date from the 16th century to the present day. From here, there
is access to a crypt where is an unusual crib re-enacting different scenes from
the life of Christ; one after the other, the tableaux are illuminated and
provided with a short commentary.
HISTORY
Caltagirone, city of ceramics – The reason
behind it all rests in the inexhaustible deposits of clay occurring in the
area. The ease with which this raw material can be extracted has underpinned
the success of the terracotta potteries, in manufacturing tableware especially,
for distribution throughout the region. Local shapes gave way to Greek
influences (as trade increased). This soon became one of the town’s main
activities. The production improved becoming more efficient and more precise and
the wheel was introduced (by the Cretans in about 1000 BC). The critical
turning point, however, was the arrival of the Arabians in the 9th
century, for, with them, practices were changed irrevocably. They introduced
Eastern designs and also glazing techniques that rendered objects impermeable
to water. The art became more sophisticated as exquisite geometric patterning
and stylised decoration were modelled on plants and animals. Blue, green and
yellow were the predominant colours. The Arabian contribution to the city
culture is honored in the name of the town, that according to the most
intriguing hypothesis, might be derived from the Moorish for “castle” or
“fortress of vases”.
Tastes and demands remarkably changed under the
Spanish. The painted decoration was predominantly monochrome (blue or brown)
and comprised organic designs or coat of arms of some noble family or religious
order. The city entered a period of prosperity thanks to the new industries in
the area. The honey production became particularly important, and honey-makers
soon became the potters’ most assiduous customers. The “quartaro” (deriving
from “quartara”, an amphorae with a capacity of 1,25 litres), a new figure of
ceramics artisan, appeared, supplementing the old “cannataro” (deriving from
the word “cannata” meaning jug). Organizing themselves into confraternities,
they opened their workshops in a large area south of the town, within the city
walls.
Besides ceramic tables and kitchenware,
Caltagirone established itself for the making of tiles and ornamental plaques
for domes and floors, church and palazzi façades. Among the greatest artists
between the 16th and the 18th century were the Gagini
brothers and Natale Bonajuti. In the 17th century decorative
medallions filled with figurative vignettes of effigies of saints (typical in
products from all over Sicily) became popular; a century later, moulded relief
was applied to vases with elaborate volutes and polychrome decoration.
The 19th century saw a period of
decline, arrested only in part by the production of figurines, often used in
Nativity cribs. In the second half of the century, this form of art reached new
heights of excellence in the hands of such masters as Dongiovanni and Vaccaro.
TOURISM
The visitors of Caltagirone cannot fail to
notice the outward signs of a thriving industry now synonymous with the name of
the place: brightly painted ceramics not only fill shop windows with a
profusion of vases, plates and other household goods, they also decorate
bridges, balustrades, frontages and balconies. This bears witness to an art
which, here, is as old as the origins of the town itself.
Where to
buy
Glazed earthenware is offered for sale by
endless numbers of shops in the town centre and on either side of the Scala di
Santa Maria del Monte. For an overview of what is produced locally, seek out
the Mostra Mercato on Via Vittorio Emanuele, displaying representative examples
of work by some of the town’s craftsmen.
WHERE TO
EAT
By the steps leading up the Scala of Santa
Maria del Monte, on the right, is the La Scala restaurant. This occupies a fine
18th century building which has rooms on the ground floor where
spring water still flows, the equivalent of running water at the time when it
was built.