Italian folk art

The history of Italian folk art is very long. After Etruscan civilization and especially the Roman Republic and Empire that dominated this part of the world for many centuries, Italy was central to European art during the Renaissance. Italy also saw European artistic dominance in the 16th and 17th centuries with the Baroque artistic movement. Nonetheless, by the 18th century, the country saw a decline in its artistic output and it started to lose its lustre as Europe and the Western world's artistic leader, with France reaching its artistic zenith through movements such as the Rococo and Neoclassicism.

Italian ceramics

The name “maiolica” (majolica) comes from the Spanish island of Majorca where ships carrying lusterware from Valencia stopped on their way to Italy. By the 1500s in Italy the term had broadened its’ meaning from lusterware to ‘tin glazed earthenware.’

Italian maiolica was first produced around 1350. Maiolica is an Italian earthenware with an opaque white tin oxide glaze. Its most outstanding feature is the beautiful, colorful decoration which never fades or loses its beauty. Maiolica is usually associated with the Renaissance when it hit its aesthetic peak, but it had been produced in Italy since the 13th century and is still produced today.

Italian tapestries

The golden age of Italian tapestry we call the Renaissance is elegant era in which the finest Italian wall hanging tapestry designs were seamlessly incorporated into everyday living. While Italian tapestry designs were often woven by roving companies of tapestry weavers from Belgium, the Italians themselves added a unique home grown flair to make these Italian tapestry designs classic examples of the finest tapestries ever woven.