In Italy, not far from Florence, there is a small town of Montelupo Fiorentino with a population of 15 thousand people. The Florentines took control of the territory of Montelupo Fiorentino in the 13th century and built a castle. A century later, local residents began to produce majolica, borrowing motifs from Islamic ceramics, over time, the artists developed their own style, depicting patterns, representatives of different professions, hired German soldiers (landsknechts), etc. More and more kilns appeared within the city walls - by the end of the 15th century, their number increased to fifty. The production of majolica reached such a high level that a special decree was issued prohibiting the dumping of ever-increasing production waste into the nearby Pesa River.
The masters of Montelupo Fiorentino often traveled to neighboring cities, where they became acquainted with new ceramic-making techniques. They often visited Faenza, the city after which the faience was named. In the 16th century, Montelupo Fiorentino flourished thanks to the majolica trade: local ceramics are found in different parts of the world, even in Central America, where Europeans founded their first colonies.
At the end of the 17th century, majolica production in Montelupo Fiorentino began to decline, but did not stop completely. During the 20th century, several factories operated, in particular the company Mancioli & C., which produced traditional pottery in a rustic style. In 1977, archaeologists discovered many fragments of Renaissance majolica in one of the wells, which were donated to the city's ceramics museum. A collection of well-preserved ceramic objects from Montelupo Fiorentino is also in the British Museum.
Source:
britishmuseum.org
