Known and appreciated all over the world, the Deruta majolica still reproduce, by hand, the 16th century decorations that brought the city to its maximum splendor in the Middle Ages.
Deruta, built at the crossroads of important land and river ways of communication, could easily obtain the clay necessary for making majolica from the surrounding hills. The production of ceramics supported the city’s economy and favored its commercial expansion.
Already in 1336 there were guilds of artisans who made objects of common use in decorated ceramics. The colors used by the artisans of the time were green copper and brown manganesesu white background, but over the centuries were added orange, blue and yellow. Deruta majolica was decorated with geometric or floral weaves, only after the traditional motifs were added new ornaments and iconographies: thick weaves of foliage, hunting scenes, zoomorphic figures, landscapes. In the 1500s the production of Deruta reached its maximum splendor so much that some ceramic artists were commissioned to realize the floor tiles of the Oratory of San Bernardino in Perugia and also the tiles of the local Church of San Francesco.