by Nicole Chiassarini – from TusciaUp.com, 15 May 2019
Presented on Wednesday 15 May at Palazzo Brugiotti, home of the Fondazione Carivit, the exhibition devoted to the art of majolica, titled “Medieval Majolica from the Butto of Celleno Vecchio. Rediscovering an Ancient Tradition”, was organised as part of the “Buongiorno Ceramica” initiative, and will display to the public for the first time 40 precious ceramic finds from the late medieval period, the result of recovery work and study by specialists from the University of Tuscia. Speaking at the press conference to present the temporary event, which will run from 18 May to 16 June at the Museo della Ceramica della Tuscia, were the President of the Fondazione Carivit, Marco Lazzari, and Giuseppe Romagnoli of the University of Tuscia.
Located in the heart of Viterbo’s historic centre, inside the headquarters of the Fondazione Carivit just a few steps from Piazza del Plebiscito, the Museo della Ceramica della Tuscia at Palazzo Brugiotti will host, for about a month, a temporary exhibition of majolica ceramic objects – specifically a type of ceramic production characterised by a tin-glazed vitrified coating, painted with geometric and plant-form decorations, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic depictions, heraldic emblems and sacred symbols, found in 1975 in a “rubbish pit” of a noble residence in Celleno Vecchia. The complete assemblage, recovered and catalogued by specialists from the University of Tuscia, consists of around 8,000 fragments of archaic majolica. “The forty pieces on display, restored thanks to a contribution from the Municipality of Celleno,” said Romagnoli of the University of Tuscia, “illustrate the richness of the tableware ceramics produced at the end of the Middle Ages, while at the same time representing an important expression of the social status of their owners, probably belonging to the aristocracy linked to the Lords of old Celleno.”
The exhibition, hosted and organised by the Fondazione Carivit, takes place as part of the fifth edition of the event “Buongiorno Ceramica: the widespread festival of Italian ceramics”, which brings together 34 Italian towns with an ancient ceramic tradition, among which, since last year, the city of Viterbo is also included. “This set of majolica pieces has been recovered, restored, and is today being shown to the public for the first time inside our museum,” stated the president of the Fondazione Carivit. “I would like to thank the Municipality of Viterbo, the University of Tuscia, which gave us this opportunity, Professor Romagnoli for his artistic assistance in managing the exhibition, the Superintendency, the Municipality of Celleno, and of course the Fondazione’s own staff, who lent their support in every possible way for the organisation of the event. You will see that all of this will be unveiled on the 18th, when the exhibition opens, accompanied by many speeches.” Indeed, on Saturday at 6pm, at the ceramics museum of Palazzo Brugiotti, the exhibition will open together with the Mayor of Celleno, Marco Bianchi, the Viterbo councillor for culture, Marco De Carolis, Maria Letizia Arancio of the Superintendency, and the ceramologist Romualdo Luzi. For the occasion, the Palazzo housing the Fondazione Carivit will also remain open from 9pm to 11pm. A conference is also planned towards the end of the exhibition in June, at which various more specific aspects regarding the use and characteristics of the majolica on display will be presented.
A journey of discovery into the ancient art of majolica, an immersion into the history of ceramics amid precious finds. An ancient tradition shining once again, to be shown for the first time from this Saturday, 18 May, at 6pm – an unmissable event for anyone wishing to take the opportunity and lose themselves in the historical and artistic beauties that Tuscia continues to offer.
