The success story of Sassuolo ceramics recounted in the museums of Marca Corona and the Iris Ceramica Group

The most important center for industrial ceramics in Italy can be found in the foothills of Modena, in a small, almost elite area of a few square kilometers. It is formed by the municipalities of Sassuolo, Fiorano Modenese, Formigine, Frassinoro, Maranello, Montefiorino, Palagano and Prignano which have united under the Unione Comuni Distretto Ceramico. This area has turned ceramic production – an ancient artisan tradition that originated in small workshops and was perpetuated over time to become an industry – into a vocation. Today, it is estimated that 80% of Italian tiles are produced in this district. This is due to the abundance of clay in the soil, to the presence of the Este family and other noble families who financed production, as well as the mass influx of labor and the region’s long-standing aptitude for trade and commerce. There are two places in Sassuolo and Fiorano Modenese that tell the story behind the history and expansion of the ceramic industry in the Modena region: the Galleria Marca Corona and the Museo Storico Iris Ceramica Group, the museums of two of the most important companies in the area.

Sassuolo lies at the heart of the Italian ceramic industry. The town also has a tradition of football and produces a unique aniseed liqueur, Sassolino Stampa. Its urban fabric is made up of production, commercial and residential activities that extend from the foothills to the plain. The town’s history and architecture are synonymous with the rule of the Este family, who chose it as their holiday destination in the second half of the seventeenth century, promoting its civil and economic progress. The eighteenth-century parish church of S. Giorgio, with its elegant rococo stuccoes, overlooks Piazza dei Martiri Partigiani, while Piazza Garibaldi is an attractive Renaissance square surrounded by porticoed houses, a place in which to stop and rest and where markets are held. But Sassuolo’s Ducal Palace, one of the most important Baroque residences in northern Italy, is undoubtedly its biggest attraction. This beautiful building was designed by the architect, Bartolomeo Avanzini, who was commissioned by Francesco I d’Este to transform the ancient castle belonging to the Pio family into the present building, which was then restored over the years. Inside, stucco decorations and elegant frescoes can be admired, particularly in the gallery of Bacchus, painted by the court painter, Jean Boulanger, in the first half of the seventeenth century. The main floor houses the apartments of the duke and duchess, adorned by hundreds of works from the Galleria Estense in Modena, which has contributed more than 300 paintings and sculptures to the palace. The fountain of Neptune, built by Antonio Raggi and designed by Bernini, graces the courtyard. An immense park surrounds the palace. It features the Belvedere pavilion with its tempera paintings depicting the Este family’s country residences and the baroque pond, a monumental tank for fish breeding. The latter, which was designed by Bartolomeo Avanzini and Gaspare Vigarani, stage designer and hydraulic engineer, became a spectacular “water theater” for games and performances.

The sanctuary of the Beata Vergine del Castello stands on the hill overlooking the town. It was built on the site of the ancient castle dating back to the 10th century and later destroyed in 1510. The sanctuary was designed by Bartolomeo Avanzini in 1634 to house a fresco from the fortress gate and only completed in 1889. Inside, it is filled with frescoes, fine furnishings, paintings, and a collection of ex-votos that bear witness to the local people’s devotion to the ancient image of the Madonna and Child, to whom miraculous events were attributed. The Fiorano circuit, an experimental testing facility for racing and grand touring Ferraris, lies on the outskirts of the town.

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