Monumental furnaces, workshops, exhibitions, cultural events and performances between Savona, Albissola Marina, Albisola Superiore and Celle Lligure from 10 to 12 May. Three days dedicated to art, creativity and culture with the second edition of the Maiolica Festival at Ceramics Bay. After the success of the 2023 edition, the four Ligurian municipalities facing the sea return to act as the stage for the event, which represents an important opportunity to strengthen the priceless heritage and revive the craft, artistic, commercial and touristic structure. flat.
The event was created to improve the art of majolica and is supported by the municipalities of Savona, Albissola Marina, Albisola Superiore and Celle Ligure, the Riviere di Liguria Chamber of Commerce, coordinated by Confartigianato Savona, with the contribution of the Liguria Region. and the De Mari Foundation. “This year again we propose a high-quality event,” said the mayor of Savona, Marco Russo – which we are proud of and which unites the communities of Baia della Ceramica even more. Already last year, the festival had an excellent response from the public, who were able to appreciate the value and creativity of artists and craftsmen coming not only from our territory, but also from many European cities. The conditions are there for this success to be repeated and the Maiolica 2024 festival will be an important step on the way to making Savona the Italian capital of culture.”
“For the second year – he explains Nicoletta Negro, Vice-President of the Association of Italian Ceramic Cities and Councilor for Culture of the Municipality of Savona – Baia della Ceramica offers a structured program spread throughout the territory. The ambition is growing to be an increasingly attractive center even compared to other Italian cities that share an ancient ceramic tradition with us. This whole process is more consistent than ever with the candidacy for the Italian Capital of Culture in 2027, for which we are already establishing a beautiful collaboration with the city of Agrigento and its ceramics.” With the 2024 edition, the organizers’ bet is to confirm Baia Ceramics as a destination of quality art, culture and tourism on a national scale.
“The majolica festival is the most important undertaking of the process of territorial tourism promotion of excellent local artisans, ceramics, which the four administrations of the bay have been carrying out for several years – explain the municipalities of Albissola Marina, Albisola Superiore and Celle Ligure – With this event, which returns to our territory after a successful first edition, we want to focus attention on the cultural, museum and artistic system of majolica with a more innovative and engaging inclination for visitors, telling the story of businesses and traditions”.
The heart of the event will be the Monumental furnaces. Four large pottery kilns made by local artisans that will be built and made available for an evocative show available to visitors. On Saturday, May 11, the cities will literally light up to give life to an event never before held in Liguria. The bay once again hosts the Italian ceramic tradition: if last year the inhabitants of Faenza brought the world of potters to Savona, in May the colorful majolica of Caltagirone will be exceptional guests of the festival with ad hoc initiatives.
“The Art of Ceramics – Emphasizes Enrico Lupi, president of the Riviere di Liguria Chamber of Commerce – represents a unique characteristic for Savona, an element of cultural and tourist attraction of enormous value. Promoting the mastery of our artisans through the Majolica Festival means honoring an ancient tradition that has been a very important segment for the local economy and promotion of the territory since the beginning. Our Chamber of Commerce has long been engaged in cooperation with the region and local craft associations in a synergistic event to support ceramics and entrepreneurs in the field who meet the requirements to be able to boast the qualification of a master craftsman. We are sure that this initiative can only grow, consolidate and attract visitors from all over Italy.”
With live performances, exhibitions, workshops and laboratories, guided tours, tastings, ceramicists, artists, galleries and studios, associations, traders, citizens and tourists will be involved in the three days of the festival: a rich and varied program that boasts major events of excellence as in Albisola Superiore “CeramiCrack” – Regeneration of matter, an unprecedented project of itinerant art installations that are linked to the cultural heritage and ceramic works of Albisola in connection between revolutionary elements and the reopening with a specialized event of the Officina 900, an artistic and cultural space that suffered significant damage due to fire late last year.
In Albissola Marina you cannot miss the Muda 10, 10 years of the museum with the opening of the exhibitions of the extensive municipal museum with guided tours and a special shuttle service to facilitate travel, in Celle Ligure the inauguration of the Caruggio Santa Caterina da Siena and the opening of the exhibition dedicated to the caricatures of Emilio Giannelli, the famous cartoonist Corriere della Sera newspaper. Savona therefore leaves room for design with Adi Liguria Initiatives and the Maiolica Festival 2024 prize in collaboration with Liceo Artistico Arturo Martini and Caterina Sambin Vetro Ceramica.
The Majolica Festival is part of the program of events for the Savona Capital of Culture 2027 candidacy: in the wonderful setting of Villa Cambiaso, as part of an evening of ceramic art and theater, Mayor Russo and the representative of the City of Agrigento will seal the Pact of Friendship between the City of Agrigento, the Capital of Culture of Italy 2025 and the City of Savona. During the festival days, the Savona Ceramics Museum will also be the protagonist: events and workshops are planned, without forgetting the possibility to visit the two ongoing exhibitions “Arturo Martini. Plot of Dreams” and “Essere Uno. Fabrics and Ceramics by Alessandro Teoldi”. “The Majolica Festival is the right opportunity to celebrate the great ceramic tradition of our territory, which as a foundation we want to strengthen more and more synergistically between all entities, associations and craft workshops that continue to invest in this excellence of ours – he comments Luciano Pasqualepresident of the de Mari Foundation and president of the Savona Ceramics Museum Foundation – The Savona Ceramics Museum and the MuDa of Albissola Marina, which we manage as the Ceramics Museum Foundation, are ideal places to promote, experiment and improve this art. important both nationally and internationally.”
The festival also includes the historic Stile Artigiano Savona event dedicated to food and design. “The Confartigianato Savona event, which will reach its 20th year in 2024, returns together with the Majolica Festival and confirms the winning combination for a new and high-quality cultural and touristic offer. Ceramic festival during which Stile Artigiano It offers workshops aimed at the public and professional operators During the event, products will be displayed and sold to the public by Savona, he explains Giancarlo Grasso, president of Confartigianato Savona – Thank you to the administrators of Baia della Ceramica, who have chosen us for the second year as the operating entity to organize an event that draws attention to the territory and to our artisan businesses. The path of cultural tourism, which laid solid foundations in the last edition, continues and ceramic companies are building in the center.