To make a good ceramic, before the inventiveness and creative genius, one must have good raw materials, above all, water and clay but also wood to fuel the furnaces, which would reach very high temperatures to obtain optimal baking.
Palena lacks neither water, clay nor wood, there is the Aventine river with its waters and there are forests. At the head of the river, there is valuable clay rich in silica and limestone, they came here to buy it from Rapino to Castelli - renowned centers of ceramic production.
Over the last two centuries with all these resources even the local shops have realized plates, mugs, bowls, vases: the contents of every woman's bottom drawer brought with her as part of her dowry, functional to the daily needs of food and cooking but also beautiful, decorated with flowers, birds, letters or geometric patterns. It's not a Palenese house if the pottery with flowers, birds, bucolic pastoral scenes produced by Pulsinelli, D'Emilio, Paterra, Taraborrelli or Como is not exposed in plain sight, on the fireplace, small private collections that testify the attachment of the community to this type of work.
We do not know when the production was started in Palena, however, based on in-depth studies of Professor Franco Battistella, it can be assumed that in the eighteenth century there were at least two village shops active. The moment of maximum height for the Palenese ceramics began in the eighties of the nineteenth century, in 1890 the village was the third most important village, after Rapino and Lanciano, in the production of "common dishes" in the province of Chieti. The highest award of merit of Palenese ceramic production came in 1911 when some artifacts were exhibited in Rome at the Italian Exhibition of Ethnography.
But the First World War was close which changed the needs and requirements of the people who now used the more economical and durable containers in enameled iron. Production of local ceramics was orientated toward the more artistic ceramics with remarkable results. The figure of Nino D'Emilio emerges in these years, son of art, he took the original Palenese ceramic products and raised them to a more advanced stage of processing techniques and aesthetics.
It must be said that in 1921 to confirm the importance assumed by the local production the first conference of the Abruzzo Regional Potters was held right here in Palena. After the Second World War, having been razed to the ground by German and American bombing, Palena, rising from its ashes, reopened only two shops, one of D'Emilio and one of Pulsinelli, active until a decade ago. Their shops, on the outskirts of the village are still intact, with plates hung on the walls, dryers, lathe, table of colours, reminiscent of an era long gone, but not lost. When passing in front of the open door industriuos hands at work could be seen which kneaded, modeled and decorated.
To make a good ceramic, before the inventiveness and creative genius, one must have good raw materials, above all, water and clay but also wood to fuel the furnaces, which would reach very high temperatures to obtain optimal baking.
Palena lacks neither water, clay nor wood, there is the Aventine river with its waters and there are forests. At the head of the river, there is valuable clay rich in silica and limestone, they came here to buy it from Rapino to Castelli - renowned centers of ceramic production.
Over the last two centuries with all these resources even the local shops have realized plates, mugs, bowls, vases: the contents of every woman's bottom drawer brought with her as part of her dowry, functional to the daily needs of food and cooking but also beautiful, decorated with flowers, birds, letters or geometric patterns. It's not a Palenese house if the pottery with flowers, birds, bucolic pastoral scenes produced by Pulsinelli, D'Emilio, Paterra, Taraborrelli or Como is not exposed in plain sight, on the fireplace, small private collections that testify the attachment of the community to this type of work.
We do not know when the production was started in Palena, however, based on in-depth studies of Professor Franco Battistella, it can be assumed that in the eighteenth century there were at least two village shops active. The moment of maximum height for the Palenese ceramics began in the eighties of the nineteenth century, in 1890 the village was the third most important village, after Rapino and Lanciano, in the production of "common dishes" in the province of Chieti. The highest award of merit of Palenese ceramic production came in 1911 when some artifacts were exhibited in Rome at the Italian Exhibition of Ethnography.
But the First World War was close which changed the needs and requirements of the people who now used the more economical and durable containers in enameled iron. Production of local ceramics was orientated toward the more artistic ceramics with remarkable results. The figure of Nino D'Emilio emerges in these years, son of art, he took the original Palenese ceramic products and raised them to a more advanced stage of processing techniques and aesthetics.
It must be said that in 1921 to confirm the importance assumed by the local production the first conference of the Abruzzo Regional Potters was held right here in Palena. After the Second World War, having been razed to the ground by German and American bombing, Palena, rising from its ashes, reopened only two shops, one of D'Emilio and one of Pulsinelli, active until a decade ago. Their shops, on the outskirts of the village are still intact, with plates hung on the walls, dryers, lathe, table of colours, reminiscent of an era long gone, but not lost. When passing in front of the open door industriuos hands at work could be seen which kneaded, modeled and decorated.