Almost a month has gone since the earthquake in the Abruzzo region. As I wrote in a previous post, many historical buildings and churches were badly damaged by this terrible earthquake.
Luckily, though, no damages were reported in what is known in Italy as "the Sistine Chapel of Italian Majolica". This definition – given by Carlo Levi when he visited it in 1963 - refers to the San Donato Church in Castelli.
The church, dedicated to the Madonna of the Rosary and built to replace a previous 15th century chapel, has an amazing ceiling completely covered in majolica tiles.
The tiles – decorated with geometric and heraldic motifs, astronomical symbols, animals, floral decorations and religious images – were made by local majolica artisans between 1615 and 1617. The
style in which the tiles were painted became known as "San Donato
style" and influenced the work of many other local artisans.
Originally
there were one thousand tiles in the church, but many of them were
damaged by the snow that, piling up on the roof, caused the detachment of many tiles that consequently smashed to the ground. What remains of the original
ceiling is currently preserved at the Museo delle Ceramiche in Castelli.
My personal dream is to see a fashion collection inspired by the Castelli tiles, with items of clothing not only inspired by the colors of the majolica tiles, but also with ceramic inserts. It would also be interesting to see a collection of jewels inspired by the tiles. I guess smaller majolica tiles could easily be turned into unique avant-garde necklaces.
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