The ceramics district

The production of Apulian ceramics is a thousand-year-old tradition and still today it is one of the most flourishing craft activities in the whole region. Grottaglie is the fulcrum of this tradition and is the only centre of Apulian ceramics protected by the

In the past, local master craftsmen obtained their workshops and baking ovens in the rock of the hypogea, also used as oil mills. Through them, Grottaglie has developed a flourishing handicraft activity which is today recognized and appreciated all over the world.

Some characteristic objects, produced by the Grottaglie’s ceramists, are:

  • “lu capasone” (a container of considerable size, used to keep wine and oil in good condition so that they do not spoil),
  • “lu srulu” (a ceramic liquid jar with handle and spout, without lid. It was used to mix wine with water)
  • “lu pumu” (a clay pot moulded and baked in the kiln, in the shape of a small mouth, used to embellish the balconies of the apartments in the old town centre of Grottaglie
  • “Bianchi di Grottaglie” (white ceramics that enhance the pure form with the help of white stanniferous enamel)

Today the district is still full of ceramic objects worked according to traditional methods and, in Grottaglie, centres and museums have sprung up for suggestive exhibitions and shows.  The most famous of them are:

Gallery

Location