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COTTO DI
IMPRUNETA -
History
Impruneta is a small town just off the Chianti area about half an hour south of Florence. It's name comes from "in prunetis" meaning between the pines, infact one can still see fine mediterranean pines amoung the thick olive tree vegetation which surrounds the town.
The earth is rich in clay, the "Galestro", of particularily pure
composition.
It is since the Middle Ages that the people of Impruneta have perfected their
skills of mixing Galestro with water and producing Terracotta of extreemly
high quality. Undoubtedly it is also the geografical situation of Impruneta,
so close to Florence, that helped in promoting such a strong development.
Originally Impruneta produced hand-made bricks and tiles. these can be seen in the dome of Santa Maria del fiore designed by the Rennaissance maestro Brunelleschi.
The mineral characteristics and pureness of Galestro is such that once cooked it remains very resistant and water repellent, this is why it is still used to tile the floors of prestigious Tuscan homes.
In the seventeenth century there already existed a number of prosperous families whose income depended heavily on the local production then sold to so many architects and artists.
The
art of manipulating the Galestro developed and was no longer restricted just
to tiles and bricks but also became vases and other ornaments both for interiors
and exteriors. Many of the founding families of the seventeenth century still
exist and still work with Galestro.
Tecnological evolution brought about the industrial production of many items such as the bricks and the tiles, however there still exist a number of skilled craftsmen who either work independently or within specific divisions of these industries.
These skilled craftsmen work according to the traditional method manipulating each piece of Galestro so as to produce a unique piece of art with no one identical to another. Each one brings to mind the roughness of the earth from which it comes. Usually they produce to design.