Discovering the Artisan
Francesco De Maio
Campania, Italy | Ceramist
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The handcraft wisdom and industrial culture melt together with the sharing of values of the handmade ceramics tradition
Ceramica Francesco De Maio rises where the sky melts with the sea and the Amalfi Coast glitters of its many colors, from 1963 it realizes and promotes the beauty of its handmade tiles which tell, towards the excellence of their collections, the culture and the history of its homeland. Ceramica Francesco De Maio is the century-old heir (since 1494) of a long dynasty of ceramic artists and was born after the marriage between Vincenza Cassetta, Giuseppe’s daughter, master potter born in Vietri sul Mare, and Francesco De Maio, heir himself of an ancient traditional family specialized in the processing between the clay quarries of the handmade “cotto” of Ogliara. Six centuries of experience and of ceramic excellence have passed by since 1494, and handed down from generation to generation from De Maio-Cassetta family, which still continues nowadays in the factories of Ceramica Francesco De Maio, to promote the culture, the tradition and the Vietri art using ancient techniques of production that make these ceramics unique and prestigious. Ever since its foundation, the company was appreciated for the production of the hand-decorated tiles, which nowadays still preserve the historical memory of the ancient Vietri “riggiola” (Naples dialect word indicating the typical Vietri ceramic tiles), sometimes reinterpreting it even in a modern style.