ITALIAN POTTERY - ARTISTIC CERAMICS - DECORATED POTTERY

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 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.