floor tiles

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Custom Made Show-Stopping Ceramic Floor

Sometimes, the most show-stopping design element in a room is beneath your feet.

Our Client was looking for a custom-made floor for his study. He was building to home to go and spend time in after his retirement, surrounded by his most prized possessions.

His Italian dream floor would have to be hand-painted in golden and green hues, with the most intricate elements of the pattern set along the perimeter of the room, leaving the centerstage to a large antique desk. His source of inspiration was Rosa Azul, a Sicilian tile panel hand-painted by Ghenos.

Italian tile panel or side tabletop Rosa Azul hand-painted by Ghenos in Messina, Sicily

We discussed the project with Ghenos and presented the Client with a preliminary sketch.

Custom made flooring base on the Italian hand-painted panel Rosa Azul from Sicily- sketch
Custom made flooring base on the Italian hand-painted panel Rosa Azul from Sicily - sketch detail

The Client absolutely fell in love with the design and the artisan set to work. here is a glimpse at the unfired tiles.

Italian hand-painted ceramic flooring before the final firing - 1
Italian hand-painted ceramic flooring before the final firing - 2

The production took 3 full months, but the wait was worth it!
Enjoy a few details of the final flooring.

Italian hand-painted ceramic flooring after the final firing - 1
Italian hand-painted ceramic flooring after the final firing - 2
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About a holiday in Sicily (and Sicilian pottery of course)

Just back from a holiday in Sicily! I spent a few days in Palermo then drove to the South to visit the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento.
It was my first time in Palermo and I had a blast. Palermo is so beautiful, so lively and so different from any other city I know: every corner hides a surprise. I will not mention how good the food and the weather were … don’t want to ruin your day!
As usually I was elated by the genuine beauty of Sicilian pottery, especially tiles and panels. I discovered them in the most unusual places: in the magnificent Cathedral in Palermo, in the narrow streets of Monreale, in the Museum of Anthropology in Agrigento, as stair risers on a house in Porto Empedocle.
The last day I stumbled upon a real treasure. I was visiting Palazzo Mirto in Palermo, the palace of a noble family recently opened to the public  and I noticed a precious collection of Sicilian Lumiere.
by Tiziana Manzetti
My postcards from Sicily

Lovely floor tiles at the Museum in Agrigento

Antique Sicilian floor tiles

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Montelupo Museum of Ceramics – Spring Program

The Museum of Ceramics is offering Italian ceramics lovers the chance to learn more about Montelupo pottery through a number of guided visits.

On April 10th, in the morning, an experienced guide will introduce visitors to the Museum’s collection of apothecary jars and other objects made for old pharmacies.

Montelupo apothecary pottery was an important element in the proliferation of pharmacies in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany during the Renaissance. Placed in the monasteries’ infirmaries at first, then popular as private businesses, the pharmacies flourished also thanks to the availability of safe storage vessels for the herbs.

Ceramic was an excellent material because it can hold and preserve both liquids and dried herbs and it’s easy to clean. The apothecary jars and vases from Montelupo had an additional benefit: they impressed the customers with their beauty and perfectly fit the monumental style of the rooms that were open to the public.

Soon after the visit to the Musem, the visitors will go to Florence to visit one of the oldest pharmacies in the world: Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella. Established by the Dominican fathers shortly after 1221, the pharmacy was meant to prepare and store medications, balms and creams for the monastery’s little infirmary. In 1612 the Dominicans were granted permission to open their little store to the public. Visiting the Farmacia is per se a great opportunity. Even more so, if the focus is on its awesome collection of antique apothecary pottery.

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