Castelli d'Abruzzo

Situated in a mountainous region of east central Italy, the small town of Castelli d’Abruzzo is known to have hosted ceramic production since ancient times.

Organized commercial output began during the Middle Ages, possibly driven by the Benedictine monastery of San Salvatore whose wares have been stylistically linked to those of other centers.

By the early Renaissance, the maiolica workshops of Castelli represented a notable manufacturing group which enjoyed a fairly substantial economic and cultural exchange with other parts of Italy, including Faenza and Naples.

The most influential atelier of this period is associated with Orazio Pompei, the craftsman responsible for the 1551 La Madonna che allatta il bambino (Madonna nursing Child), and the extraordinary tile ceiling and pavement in the Church of San Donato in Castelli (1615-1617).

Recently, the Pompei workshop has also been suggested as the probable source of the heretofore unattributed Orsini Colonna service, the extensive set of stylistically unique apothecary wares believed to have been made over a period of about twenty years for a branch of the Orsini family, one of the most active patrons of Renaissance maiolica.

Although the San Donato tiles postdate Orsini Colonna wares and depart from their rich, saturated palette, many feature figures that are strikingly similar to those of the pharmacy wares, suggesting common origins.

The San Donato ornament displays the influence of both Faentine compendiario whitewares and the istoriato wares of Urbino, and is generally considered to represent the inauguration of the pictorial style which would become synonymous with Castelli and come to dominate maiolica production in south central Italy.

Perhaps inspired by the work of Antonio Lollo, Carlo Antonio Grue created what is known as the Castelli style, wares decorated with distinctive narrative scenes based on engravings by a variety of artists, painted with an airy hand in a soft, dreamy palette.

Members of the Grue and Gentile families were responsible for popularizing the Castelli style in other Italian centers. The wares were especially popular in the city of Naples, capital of the kingdom which comprised the Abruzzi region.

Castelli wares comprised a variety of forms, but plaques and panels were produced in great quantities in the 18^th century. Tablet forms are particularly well-suited to scenic representations, and the panels may have evolved out of decorated tiles, such as those used in San Donato.

The transition from tile to panel occurred in another maiolica center known for tile production: Delft in the Netherlands. In fact, the influence of Delft wares on the artisans of Castelli should not be dismissed entirely. Although the practice of copying scenes from engravings and other sources originated in Italy, some Castelli wares display motifs drawn from Flemish ceramics, suggesting that the craftsmen of Castelli d’Abruzzo had some access to goods made in Northern Europe.

At the very least, Castelli’s artisans would have been aware of the fashions that affected their markets, and in the 17^th and 18^th centuries those trends were determined by their colleagues north of the Alps.

Other workshops associated with the Castelli style include those of the Cappelletti, De Martinis, Fraticelli, Guerrieri, and Pardi families.

Narrative wares declined in quality and popularity after about 1750, when artisans sought to reproduce ornamental styles associated with porcelain.