Impruneta: numerous documentary sources prove that the production of terracotta - from the Fifteenth century to the present day - has influenced the economy and social life of the Impruneta area, becoming a fundamental element for the founding of an original civilisation: the civilisation of Terracotta.
Clay is an apparently poor and primitive material that has been worked since the birth of man all over the world. It is also the basic element for the production of Impruneta Terracotta and is extracted from open quarries in the area. It is then conserved in the sun, ground, reduced to a powder and mixed until a workable clay is obtained.
As early as 1308 there existed a local corporation that grouped together potters from Impruneta with the aim of protecting and regulating the production of terracotta. Filippo Brunelleschi chose Impruneta kilns for the production of the flat terracotta tiles for the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence as this material was both solid and light,
the vault of the dome, in fact, has no supporting framework, property that only earth can offer. Today, as in the past, craft production is mainly based on manual methods. Articles for home or garden are created from the research into modern shapes with a touch of tradition. Pressed or mass produced vases and jars are not produced in Impruneta: each piece is unique, similar to, but different from its fellows, and, on show in the kiln room, they invite us to listen to their history.
F.lli Masini s.n.c. Via delle Fornaci, 57/59 50023 Impruneta - Florence - Italy Tel. (+39) 055/2011683 Fax (+39) 055/2313211
