Articolo disponibile anche in: Italian
Along the road that goes from Radda to Gaiole, in the heart of the most fascinating countryside of the Sienese Chianti Classico, immersed in vegetation, we turn a curve and find a farm house.
A sign in yellow ceramic reads, “Ceramiche Rampini”. The green environs give a sense of tranquility and silence. A cat hangs out in the garden.
We meet the owner, the artist Paolo Rampini, who tells us about his work and takes us to the rooms where he produces his delicate objects: “Our workshop has existed for more than 20 years, since my family, originally from Gubbio, moved here”.
“Besides me, there are all of the people who have worked here for years, growing professionally and perfecting this technique”, he tells us passionately, explaining what artisanal methods are used for decoration. Production is limited. Hand made work takes time. “But in this way we create unique pieces, one different from the next, painted by hand using a technique from the Renaissance”.
“This is our world”, he says proudly, explaining the process. “From the object in terra cotta, that we call ‘biscotto’, produced by our suppliers who use only earth from the Arno or Tiber rivers, we proceed to hand enameling”.
“Then the items are painted, always by hand, with mineral based colors; the same way it was done in antiquity. And finally they are baked in a gas stove (instead of a wood stove)”.
Entering the workshop is a dive into the past. The bond that unites traditional Florentine ceramics has been around for centuries, but in this workshop are created particular and personalized art objects according to the clients’ requests, which have changed over the years.
“Foreign clients and tourists can visit our show room and see our objects and order them with modifications. We like to mix tradition with more modern design”.
Many of our “made in Chianti” objects are shipped abroad, although lately there haven’t been as many tourists. Chianti landscapes, rows of vineyards and grapes, olives, lemons…all designs which take us back to Renasissance Florence, when the Medici family made history. The Chianti region, works of art and open skies, still offer these gifts.
Silvia Rabatti