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 Francesco Guarino's production follows Albisola's
tradition of decorative pottery in a naturalistic way, and includes still life,
landscapes, sculptures, and so on; also commissioned oil portraits. His work is
produced entirely in majolica and consists of unique handcrafted items
guaranteed by Francesco's artistic experience. He started working with masters
of pottery in 1990 and later opened his own workshop, preferring to specialize
in unique originals rather than mass production. Francesco Guarino has
participated in art exhibitions at national and international level.
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Albisola is a small town in the province of Savona which, as well as being a
wellknown holiday resort, can claim a position of national importance in the
field of ceramics and majolica production. Albisola pottery is famous above all
for its characteristic blue and white colours, known as "Antique Savona".
Francesco's work moves within this artistic framework, applying his inborn
talent to the typical Albisola technique. This talent is probably traceable to
the heritage of his Sicilian origins, as this region is traditionally rich in
artists dedicated to the creation of ceramics. Francesco is very versatile. His
work is varied, without exaggeration or useless detail, with an eye to
traditional styles. His work includes vases, sculptures, paintings, decorated
plates, lamps, portraits, objects for interior decoration, landscapes, gift
articles, all made to order. Another aspect of Francesco's varied artistic
personality is his interest in sacred art. He has a wide production inspired by
ancient traditon, and there is a rich section on sacred art on his website.
Portraits of the saints and the nativity and passion of Christ, sculptures of
nativity figures, plates decorated with biblical scenes are only some of the
items to be found on the link to sacred art. Sea, sun and mountains are only
some of the attractions of this small but important centre in the province of
Savona, and even if you are interested in only a few of these, treating
yourself to a holiday in Albisola is worthwhile! If you come this way pay a
visit to Francesco's studio and admire his work firsthand. It is situated
opposite the railway station in Albisola Superiore, close to the motorway exit.
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 The tradition of working clay
in Albisola goes back thousands of years. We can say that it has followed the
growth of civilization down the centuries. Good quality clay for pottery was
produced in Albisola during Roman times, and the decline of the pottery
tradition coincided with the decline of Roman civilization, only to revive
slowly in the Middle Ages up to the 16th century. In the 17th century Albisola
could boast some of the best majolica production in Europe, the most widely
made decorative pottery being the calligraphic-naturalistic Antique Savona, or
blue and white, style. The 18th century witnessed the development of the
Levantino and Valente styles, together with the Boselli and other decorative
styles which continued into the 19th century and led to Art Déco and Futurism.
So the history of pottery in Albisola moves on through the centuries. There is
disagreement among experts as regards the timing of its rise to national fame.
Some, like Antonio Aragon, believe it spreads from Sicily from the 11th century
onwards, covering the whole of Italy in the space of a few hundred years and
reaching Albisola around the 12th century. But according to the English
archaeologist David Whitehouse the origins of early Sicilian or
southern pottery are different from those of ancient northern pottery and date
back to the 12th century, stemming from north Africa and reaching Albisola and
Savona in due course. It's possible that this production is reflected in the
"Bacini" mounted on Ligurian bell towers and church façades and recorded in the
inventories of pottery ware belonging to Ligurian nobles. According to 8th
century documents Benedictine monks brought pottery to Albisola, usually glazed
earthenware or slips. The rebirth of ceramics production in Albisola is
documented in the 15th century: ancient majolica, slips, semi majolica, glass
panels, lustres. But the real triumph of majolica in Albisola came about in the
16th century and in the 17th century it made the town
famous throughout Europe. Many other documents and products testify to the
flowering of Albisola ceramics in the 16th century. These products were sought
after by nobles, not only in Genoa and Liguria. In this period families of
ceramics artists were born in Savona and Albisola, who flourished and became
famous well into the 17th and 18th centuries. The Bianchino and Ghirardi
families produced other ceramics artists who spanned the centuries. In the 16th century
came the first statutes regulating the profession, and many artists from
Albisola and Savona adhered to these corporations or statutes: Conradi,
Piccone, Salomone and Ghirardi, Grosso, Peluffo, Sciaccarama, Seirullo,
Saettone or Seitone, and other masters wrote the history of pottery in Albisola
and Savona. The 17th century is perhaps the period of its greatest splendour.
Thanks to the work of the painter Giovanni Antonio Guidobono the famous
"Antique Savona" decoration gained popularity, putting Albisola and Savona at
the forefront of
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Italian production,
and the famous turquoise colouring was in
demand throughout Italy and Europe.
These towns achieved fame for their fine
white glazing as well as for decorative style. In this period, the rivalry
between workshops led to family names and marks being used on vases to identify
the majolica of Albisola and Savona. But there were highs and lows in their
production, caused by the wars and epidemics that afflicted Europe in that
period. The Folco, Chiodo Bianchino and many other families were active in Albisola and Savona at the time. After
1720 porcelain started to spread and "terzo fuoco" decoration, manufactured by
a process of triple firing, came in 1748. Glazed earthenware arrived from
England in 1752, then from the whole of Europe, and together with porcelain it
quickly replaced Italian majolica and that of Albisola in particular, causing
its rapid decline. Famous ceramics artists like Folco, Levantino, Giacomo
Boselli, Ratti, and so on, were working in Albisola and Savona in the 18th
century, but in the 19th century the artisan workshops were replaced by
European factories which produced porcelain and earthenware with applied
decoration. Thus much of the local majolica production was abandoned in favour
of earthenware, in spite of the fact that there was no lack of famous artists
like Tambuscio and Brilla. Towards the end of the 19th century it was Nicolo'
Poggi who contributed to the rebirth of majolica, first in Savona and then in
Albisola. His work encouraged other artists to revert to tradition; between the
end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century Liberty was the most
popular decoration, then came Futurism, which brought fame to Albisola. The
most famous 18th century style in this part of Italy was the calligraphic
naturalistic, which was an imitation of the Turkish decorations of Iznik or of
Chinese porcelain. It can be decorated in arabesque, leaf or country
"quarters". The Albisola artists superimposed Asian motifs such as hares, deer,
birds or leaves on Western ones such as churches, castles or houses, all
painted in turquoise or multicoloured. The better known "Antique Savona"
decoration was in turquoise on a white background, more rarely multicoloured,
and usually depicted religious or mythological motifs, or landscapes. The
Levantino style was widely used in Albisola in the 19th century, as were the
Valente "birds and parsley" and the Boselli. In the 20th century Art Déco and
Futurism were in vogue. In Albisola beyond to the ceramics you can find one
beautiful beach, many restaurants. In Albisola there are also many beautiful
churches. In Albisola Superiore finds that one dedicated to Saint Nicolò. In
Albisola Capo Saint Peter and Stella Maris. In Albissola Marina that one
dedicated to “Ours Mrs. of the Concord”. In the locality Peace in Albisola
Superiore the Madonna of the Peace.
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