The book sets out to describe the history of ceramics design in Italy from the late 19th century up to the present: from the applied arts debate and the early phases of industrialization to the birth of areas of production and industrial transformation, from the 20th century with its large numbers and the impact of designers and companies, to the contemporary scenario of fashion and research.
The book looks at how, from the late 19th century onwards, the technique of processing clay in a kiln becomes a field of experimentation which is ideal for the early stages of industrialization, as well as the communication and spread of repeatable formal and decorative expressions. The varied nature of Italy’s areas of production is documented through an analysis of how they developed. How, starting from traditional processing techniques, they approached modernity by making significant transformations, both in terms of techniques and their consumer market. The book, divided into five long chapters, shows how ceramics, through its characteristics of being made to last, in repeatable series and its deep and persisting relationship with everyday life, has become one of the reflections of the mutations of meaning of contemporary design.