Deruta

Deruta, a walled hillside town located in the center of Umbria close to Perugia (capital of Umbria) and south of Tuscany, has been a major center for Italian majolia since the 16th century. What distinguishes Deruta from other ceramics towns in Italy is that it has never stopped producing ceramic ware. Though the market and the economy have ebbed and flowed over the centuries, Deruta has, in modern times, gained a reputation as THE place to buy majolica. The town is filled with shops, lining both sides of the narrow streets, up and down. Deruta also has a regional ceramics museum and a school of ceramics. Rather than focusing on the historical collection (See Faenza’s section for a comprehensive historical overview – most of Italy's regional ceramics museums are very similar in content, with lesser collections.), this section will take a brief look at Deruta the town, and the typical majolica designs associated with it.

view of the town

Deruta's regional Museum of Ceramics

town square, one of the biggest pieces of majolica ever

typical shop window

ceramics shop sign

majolica crucifix, adorning the outer wall of a Deruta church

The following are images of contemporary majolica from Deruta, typical designs the town is known for - (though these designs are found in other regions of Italy, they originated in Deruta - so claims Deruta.)

Gallo Verde (green chicken)

Arabesco (very common, derived from the patterns on ware imported from the east in the 15th century)

Raffaellesco (after the painter raphael, the dragon-grottesque from vatican frescos painted by Raphael during the 16th C)

Ricco Deruta