  In an increasingly post-modern and contemporary world, it's rare to find an artist or community who embraces and preserve the traditions of their ancestry. Visual art seems to be preoccupied with pretense and multi-media. Sculptural trends ebb toward abstraction while functional art, be it furniture making or tableware for example, concerns itself with being sleek and streamlined more than it does carrying on the techniques and aesthetics of its origins. Pottery from Italy made in the majolica tradition retains all of the Old European elegance and continues its cultural timelessness. This is exemplified in each piece of Italian ceramic dishes, bowls and platters, to name a few.
Beautifully decorated ceramic dishes and bowls from Italy bring the luxuries of the Renaissance into any home. These gorgeous and exquisitely ornamented pieces are part of a long line of Italian artistry that often gets overlooked through modern lenses of visual art. From a time when artistic expression poised itself to represent the grandeur of success and fruitfulness, majolica pottery provides a mirror into an era which blossomed with cultural exploration. Arabic and Greek influences absorbed themselves naturally into Italian ceramics, creating pieces of pottery from Italy that were not only functionally practical, but shared a wealth of creative ideals.
Today, majolica is still thriving in several regions of Italy. In Deruta, a variety of classic styles grace Italian bowls, plates, tea sets and tableware. The Sicilian stoneware and pottery ceramics also covers all areas of tableware, planters and urns, and features incredibly detailed fish, wildlife and fruit motifs. Italian dishes and the pottery of the Puglia region stands out for its sculptural eclecticism as well as a singularly stylistic Greek/Italian fusion, uncommon in art found anywhere else in the world. Tuscany is home to several majolica houses including the Dolfi family, noted for their contemporary design unique to ceramics from Italy. Majolica factories in Tuscany produce pieces which are both uniquely shaped and decorated with characteristically bold and striking patterns.
Far from being relegated to the realms of the esoteric, these prolific artists continue to reward the world with unique and inspired pottery from Italy.
 
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