Ceramics of Italy Premieres New Film on National Tile Day | by Brittney Harmond
For more than 70 years, Italy has been at the forefront of creative and technological innovations. Italian architects and designers, in particular, have consistently pushed the boundaries of the built environment by developing new and innovative practices along with groundbreaking designs that are celebrated for their ingenuity around the world. Among these innovators in the architecture and design space have been Italian ceramic manufacturers. Since the post-war period, the Italian ceramic industry has been a powerhouse behind the development and creative insight that has shaped the architecture and design industry into what it is today, producing unique ideas and collaborations within art, design, and architectural projects.
To demonstrate this, Ceramics Of Italy is launching a new initiative that will explore the beauty, creativity, and rich history behind the Italian ceramic industry and its talented manufacturers. This initiative, which is the latest chapter in the industry’s Mater Ceramica research project, is “Atlas of Italian Ceramics” – a short film edited by filmmaker Francesca Molteni.
Named after the corresponding publication by architectural historian Fulvio Irace, the film draws a visual map of the industry’s evolution, creative growth, and technological advancements over the past 70 years. The film tells a uniquely Italian story about creativity and quality that stemmed from Italy’s tenacity and determination to rebuild during the post-war years. And as Daniele Balicco – a researcher in Theory of Literature at the University of Rome and one of the participants in this initiative – explains, the Italian ceramic industry “has brought a model of accessible modernity to the world of contemporary home design.”
The film will premiere in the U.S. on National Tile Day (February 23rd) at 10am EST on the Ceramics Of Italy Facebook page (@CeramicsOfItalyNA) during a live virtual event called “The Italian Way – Stories of Heritage, Brands, and Marketing.”
Along with the film, the virtual event will feature talks, interviews, and presentations by architecture and design industry professionals including: Andrea Cancellato, former director of Triennale di Milano and current Project Manager of the ADI Design Museum; University of Milan lecturer Maria Canella; and architectural historian Fulvio Irace, who curated the film’s corresponding publication, Atlas of Italian Ceramics. In Irace’s words, the publication serves as an essential tool to chart the entire modern history of Italian ceramic manufacturers and their products until the present day. With products sold all over the world, these companies have made an essential contribution to the visibility of the “Made in Italy” trademark and promoting the uniquely Italian way of modern living.
The virtual event will also include presentations by two historic companies in the Italian ceramic sector – Marca Corona and Ceramica Francesco De Maio – who have largely based their promotional strategies on their Italian heritage. Lelio Poncemi, Managing Director of Marca Corona, and Patrizia Famiglietti, Creative Director at Ceramica Francesco De Maio, will explain their reasoning behind this strategy and some of the various initiatives their companies have launched.
