Renaissance Ceramics Collection in Camporgiano
The Este fortress conserves a collection of objects from the 14th-16th centuries
The Renaissance Ceramics Collection in Camporgiano is on display in the main tower of the Este fortress dating to the second half of the 1400s. The museum is spread across two floors: on the ground floor are ceramics from the 15th and 16th centuries coming mostly from trash pits that were emptied during renovation work in the 1960s. These pits were dug between a stretch of the castle’s 14th-centuriy wall and the elevated defense walls built by the Este.
The artefacts – including “graffile” and majolica pieces from Faenza, attest to the Este’s rule over the Garfagnana. The collection also includes Tuscan pieces, while a small portion of the ceramics were discovered in Nicciano, in the Municipality of Piazza al Serchio.
Altogether, the ceramics range almost three centuries of artistic production, from the early 1400s to the second half of the 1600s. The period is illustrated through majolica pieces, mugs, bowels and etched basins. The most frequent themes are tied to the cycle of fertility, but there are also many animal motifs, a metaphor for ethical values. The first floor conserves objects of everyday use, like spoons and domestic furniture.
Accessibility information: regione.toscana.it
