Savona and Ceramics: 600 Years of an Art That Seduced the World

A land made for ceramics

Savona is more than just sea, fortresses, and Renaissance popes: for over six centuries, it has also been one of Italy's capitals of artistic ceramics. It all began with a gift of nature—the abundance of clay in the Savona area—which, as early as the 12th century, fostered the birth of this ancient art, destined to spread in subsequent centuries to nearby Albisola, eventually conquering all of Europe.

The Renaissance of Cobalt Blue

The "Ancient Savona" style

Between the 16th and 17th centuries, Ligurian ceramics experienced its first great golden age. This period saw the birth of the famous "Antico Savona" (or "Bianco e Blu") decoration, introduced by the Guidobono family: human figures immersed in fantastical landscapes, often inspired by biblical or mythological episodes, rendered in an elegant monochrome cobalt blue on a white background.

An art that conquers Europe

The fame of the Savona and Albisola ceramics grew rapidly: as early as the 17th century, it was actually Albisola ceramists, the Conrado brothers, who founded the ceramic factories in Nevers, France—the most concrete proof of how this local tradition has become an international point of reference.

The Twentieth Century: When Albisola Became the "Free Republic of the Arts"

The encounter with Futurism

In the 1920s, the history of local ceramics changed forever thanks to Tullio d'Albisola (Tullio Mazzotti), who introduced the experiments of the Futurist movement to traditional kilns. Together with Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, he published the Futurist Manifesto of Ceramics and Aeroceramics in 1938—a manifesto that literally overturned tradition, proposing entirely new forms and languages.

The call for great international artists

From that moment on, Albisola became a favored destination for artists from around the world, who came to work in the historic kilns. Among the most famous names: Lucio Fontana , Piero Manzoni , Wifredo Lam, and the Danish artist Asger Jorn , who linked his name to the city to the point of establishing a house-museum there. In 1954, Jorn himself organized the International Ceramics Meeting in Albisola, an event that brought together Expressionists, Spatialists, and the European avant-garde.

Where to discover this story today

The Ceramics Museum of Savona

Opened in 2014 inside the 15th-century Palazzo del Monte di Pietà, in the heart of the historic center, the museum recounts over five hundred years of ceramic history through more than a thousand works, distributed across four exhibition levels—from ancient Renaissance vases to contemporary creations.

The Albisola Diffused Museum

In Albisola, the experience is completed with a journey through the places that have made the history of this art: the Alba Docilia Furnace , with the remains of the ancient kilns and a permanent exhibition of Lucio Fontana, and the Asger Jorn House Museum , testimony to the artist's personal bond with the city.

A walk worth the trip alone: the Albissola Marina seafront is home to thirty large ceramic mosaics, donated to the municipality by internationally renowned artists—an open-air museum, free and accessible to all.

A legacy that continues

Today, between Savona and Albisola, numerous historic kilns and artisan workshops keep this centuries-old tradition alive, combining traditional production with new collaborations with contemporary designers and artists. Visiting a ceramics workshop in this area means experiencing firsthand six hundred years of history that continues to be written today.