The term Cerreto ceramics refers to the ceramic production of the neighboring municipalities of Cerreto Sannita and San Lorenzello (Benevento). This designation combines the previous terms "Cerreto ceramics" and "Laurentina ceramics".
Cerreto ceramics, recognized by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Crafts as "artistic and traditional ceramics", has ancient origins, although the most flourishing period of production was after the earthquake of 5 June 1688. The reconstruction of Cerreto Sannita attracted many foreign "faenzari" (ceramists), especially from Naples, who contributed to creating the eighteenth-century shapes and decorations that still characterize Cerreto ceramics today.
The father of Cerreto ceramics was the Neapolitan faenzaro (ceramist) , who moved to Cerreto Sannita in 1692. In his workshop, men were trained who gave rise to entire generations of Cerreto and Laurentina ceramists: Antonio Giustiniani, Domenico Marchitto, and Santi Festa. The decorator Lorenzo Salandra, one of the most important figures in Neapolitan majolica, also worked there.
History 14th century to the earthquake of 5 June 1688 According to the scholar , the oldest artifact of Cerreto-Laurentina ceramics would be a statuette depicting the Ecce Homo, owned by Caterina Sanframondi, the first abbess of the Monastery of the Poor Clares in . The statuette, following the dispersal of Biondi’s ceramic collection, has been lost.
During excavations among the ruins of Old Cerreto, destroyed by the 1688 earthquake, numerous ceramic fragments were found, now preserved in the civic museum, testifying to the existence of ceramic production even before 1688.
The local historian Nicola Rotondi, in a book written in the 19th century, noted that "in the new and old Cerreto, potters have always crafted vessels, even large ones, glazed and variously painted [...]" adding that "here (in Cerreto) this art, in the uncertainty of its rules and despite the many practitioners, only a few distinguished themselves for the delicacy of the colors and the shape [...]".
The local historian Dr. Renato Pescitelli argues that before 1688, only minor ceramists, not classifiable as "faenzari", were present in Cerreto Sannita. In support of this thesis, Pescitelli notes the lack of documents explicitly mentioning the presence of "faenzari" in Cerreto, although he acknowledges the presence of several vasai and pignatari workshops in the 17th century, as evidenced by two documents preserved in the Cerreto Sannita Diocesan Archive. The first document mentions the existence, near the , of a street inhabited by several pignatari, while the second states that only "three small houses of a potter" survived the destruction of the earthquake of 5 June 1688. According to some historians, the absence of references to Cerreto "faenzari" in documents is because it was customary not to explicitly mention ceramic artifacts produced in Cerreto. This would explain why, in period inventories, some artifacts have their place of origin meticulously noted, while others, likely produced in Cerreto, lack such specification.
Other documents attesting to the presence in Cerreto of individuals working with ceramics before the 1688 earthquake include: a 1623 death certificate stating that "the two-year-old daughter of the potter’s brother" died; a 1634 baptismal record noting that Giovan Tommaso Papa, a "cretaro" by profession, had a son; a 1644 death certificate recording the death of Domenico di Rocco de Sania de Castello della Faenza; and a 1640 notarial deed listing various clay vessels, some fired and some unfired, among inventoried items. The oldest document dates back to 1591, when a contract was signed between the of Cerreto and the workshop of Cesare Iordanus, obligating the latter to supply 160 "clay tufoli" needed for the renovation of the public aqueduct.
Few Cerreto and Laurentina ceramic artifacts from the 15th–16th centuries survive today. In addition to the fragments found among the ruins of Old Cerreto and preserved in the civic museum (some dated to the medieval period), there were artifacts from Salvatore Biondi’s dispersed collection, dated by experts to the Renaissance period. During the restoration work on the (2003), a Renaissance tile was discovered, described by Dr. Luigi Di Cosmo as follows: "[...] the tile can be dated to the second half of the 15th century due to the strong predominance of the 'cold' blue, typical of Iberian inspiration. Local ceramists were influenced by Iberian ceramics imported for royal commissions. The imports of Valencian Azulejos, commissioned by Alfonso the Magnanimous for the construction of Castel Nuovo, are well known." The tile, characterized by a Gothic-floral decorative motif (with a "crumpled leaf"), was likely part of the flooring of a representative hall in the medieval castle of Old Cerreto.
Two other surviving ceramic artifacts predating 1688 are: a majolica tile dated 1684 and a jug dated 1681, featuring the coat of arms of the Mazzacane family of Cerreto in its central part.
1688 to the present
The earthquake of 5 June 1688 devastated Cerreto Sannita and caused significant damage to San Lorenzello. The reconstruction of the two towns attracted numerous foreign artisans, particularly from Naples. Many ceramists settled in the two towns, contributing with their work to the creation of a new decorative repertoire more aligned with the artistic period of that era.
In the "new" Cerreto, there was a true ceramists’ quarter located near the . During the renovation of several buildings in that area, remains of kilns for firing terracotta and ceramics were found. In this "ceramists’ insula," there were the workshops of Francesco Iadomaso, a Cerreto native, and Carlo Coluccio from Campobasso. In the same area was the workshop of Nicolò Russo, a master faenzaro who moved from Naples in 1693. Many young apprentices worked in his workshop, becoming the main figures of Cerreto ceramics in the 18th century: Domenico Marchitto, Santi Festa, Melchiorre Cerri, Nicola and Crescenzo Petruccio, Nicola Marchitto, Salvatore Paduano, and Giuseppe Paolino. Russo created numerous works in Cerreto Sannita, including several floorings in religious buildings.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the governor of the county, Migliorini, described the ceramists’ area in Cerreto in a poem as follows:
In 1710, there is record of a certain Lorenzo Salandri, a Neapolitan painter, who assisted the ceramist Nicolò Russo in decorating ceramics. Other ceramists who moved to Cerreto included Nicola di Gemma, Domenico Scarano, Giuseppe Buonanotte, Giuseppe Giustiniani, and Antonio Gaudioso. In 1723, the workshop of Giuseppe Jacobelli, father of , a sculptor, was mentioned. In 1735, there is record of a workshop with a kiln owned by Filippo and Giovan Camillo Petrucci, located near the current Via Fabbri.
Meanwhile, in 1706, Antonio Giustiniano (or Giustiniani), a Neapolitan and son of Simone and father of the more famous Nicola, settled in San Lorenzello. Antonio Giustiniani, from a family of floor decorators (Ignazio, a relative, created the splendid flooring of the Church of Sant'Andrea delle Dame in Naples), produced several works, including the majolica panel set in the tympanum of the portal of the in San Lorenzello. This panel depicts the Madonna of Health, seated on clouds, holding the child. Floral decorations with tulips adorn the sacred scene. Antonio Giustiniani also created numerous ceramics preserved in the civic museum of Piedimonte Matese, including a Stations of the Cross.
, son of Antonio, moved to Naples in 1752, where he founded a ceramic factory in Via Marinella, where, in addition to the , other Neapolitan ceramist dynasties such as the Massa, Del Vecchio, Grue, Porreca, and Chianese worked. They also produced , i.e., small colored ceramic tableware to set the tables of the inn in the nativity scene.
In Cerreto Sannita, in the first half of the 18th century, Domenico Marchitto, a pupil of Nicolò Russo and progenitor of a dynasty of ceramists active in Cerreto until the 19th century, rose to prominence. Domenico Marchitto’s workshop was located near the in a house whose facade still displays two majolica panels depicting the Assumption of the Virgin and the Marchitto coat of arms, created in 1758 and 1752, respectively. Carmelo and Giuseppe Marchitto were the authors of the majolica lunette above the entrance to the Church of San Donato in San Lorenzello (now preserved in the ceramic exhibition of the Giustiniano Association), while Tommaso was a skilled imitator of Etruscan ceramics. The latter, in partnership with the Duke of Pescolanciano, founded a renowned ceramic factory in Naples.
In 1742, thanks to the introduction by King Charles of Bourbon of the , it was possible to discover that in Cerreto Sannita there were four faenzari, five pignatari, two rovagnari, and three canalari, all involved in clay processing and ceramic production.
From the 17th–18th centuries, the most flourishing period of ceramic production in Cerreto Sannita and San Lorenzello, numerous artifacts have survived (preserved in the or in the permanent ceramic exhibition curated by the “Giustiniano” Association), along with some examples of floorings. The earliest, chronologically, is likely that of the pronaos of the Monastery of the Poor Clares in Cerreto. The large quadrangular hall features a majolica floor decorated with wind roses and garlands. This decoration is repeated in the flooring of the last chapel on the left in the Collegiate Church of San Martino, likely created by Nicolò Russo and Lorenzo Salandra. Also noteworthy in Cerreto Sannita are the flooring of the penultimate chapel on the left in the collegiate church, created by Domenico Marchitto in 1728, which anticipates the decorative theme used by Nicolò Russo in the flooring of the Church of San Gennaro, particularly in the predella of the main altar, where birds embellish naturalistic motifs. The floorings of the Rosary Chapel in the and the Church of San Giuseppe stand out from traditional decorations, featuring less vibrant colors.
In San Lorenzello, the flooring of the Church of the Congregation of Health, created in the second half of the 18th century, features a rich decoration centered on the traditional "wind rose" motif. The presbytery flooring, dated 1798, was created by the Festa family, Laurentina ceramists.
In the 19th century, around forty ceramists worked in Cerreto Sannita, but their numbers gradually dwindled until only vasai or cocciolari remained.
In the mid-20th century, interest in this ancient art form was revived thanks to numerous exhibitions organized by Salvatore Biondi and the initiative of some young ceramists.
In 1957, the was founded. In the following decades, numerous workshops were opened, competitions were held, museums were established, and various cultural initiatives took place.
Ceramic production
Since 2001, the ceramic production of Cerreto Sannita and San Lorenzello has been regulated by a disciplinary approved by the on 21 November 2001.
Typical Cerreto artifacts include ceremonial plates, pharmacy jars, lobed jugs, holy water fonts, and "riggiole" (tiles) with wind rose or garland decorations. The majority of artifacts feature decorations with religious, naturalistic, or landscape motifs.
Article 4 of the ceramic disciplinary meticulously lists the shapes of the Cerreto Sannita and San Lorenzello ceramic tradition: service plates have a double grooved rim with an average size of 23–24 cm; tureens, of various sizes, are adorned with raised fruit on the lid; medium and large holy water fonts feature architectural, floral, and sacred plastic elements; the shape of holy water fonts is temple-like; pharmaceutical albarelli have a rounded lower body with a flared rim and no lid; oil lamps have one or two handles.