Acquapendente, a centre in the far north of Lazio, is located on the Via Francigena. Precisely because of the presence of this important pilgrimage route, the town grew in importance from the Middle Ages onwards, until it became an Episcopal seat in the 17th century.

From documents preserved in the Municipal Historical Archives, we know that Acquapendente was a flourishing centre of ceramic production in the 16th century, with more than fifteen workshops boasting an artistic tradition that stretches back much further. Excavations conducted by the Soprintendenza Archeologica per l’Etruria Meridionale (Archaeological Superintendence for Southern Etruria) in collaboration with the Gruppo Archeologico ArcheoAcquapendente (Archaeological Group of Acquapendente) have brought to light majolica that tells of a rich and elaborate production from the mid 14th century until at least the mid 17th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, ceramic production, which never completely ceased, experienced a new wave of vitality thanks to the initiative of Domenico Fuschini, in whose workshop some of the most dynamic Aquisian artists were trained.

The Cathedral is the most important monument in the city and our walk must begin there.

“Ceramics between tradition and innovation.” An itinerary that in Acquapendente unites the handicraft area that has sprung up in the Paglia Valley with the countryside around the suggestive village of Torre Alfina: from artistic terracotta jars worked by skilled hands, following traditional techniques and rhythms, to the sculptures of two great artists, the Japanese Mutsuo Hirano and the German Thomas Lange, who in the field of ceramics have also realised fruitful collaborations with local craftsmen. Not forgetting, of course, a meeting with other passionate interpreters of ceramics, an art that has been in the DNA of this city for centuries, and a visit to a kiln that produces handmade terracotta, just like in the old days.