The Regional Ceramics Museum of Deruta is the oldest ceramics museum in Italy; established in 1898, it displays more than 6000 works and it is housed in the entirely restored 14th-century convent of San Francesco, in the historic centre of the town.
The first title “Museo artistico pei lavoranti in maiolica” (Art Museum for Majolica workers), already present in the first Museum catalogue in 1900, suggests us the still contemporary mission of the Museum, that is not only a place for the conservation, but also a model for artisans inspiration.
ALWAYS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, A FOUR-LEVELS METAL TOWER, GLASS SHOWCASES AND THOUSANDS OF ARTWORKS.
A massive tower of four levels used as storage, full of artworks displayed in very particular glass displays; the structure is accessible to the public and arranged for learning activities and workshops.
The Deruta Ceramics Museum arises as a place for the documentation of historically and geographically defined production, a regional thematic archive that is entirely accessible to the public.
For an aesthetic enjoyment of the museum as well, the exhibition is designed with two levels of observation in mind, one focused on individual pieces and one on an overall perspective, in which quantity and serialization take on value.
For the finest and most representative works, the display tends to isolate and enhance the individual objects, while for the extensive collection of 20th-century works, which is interesting and enjoyable to contemplate in an overall vision, the museum design is deliberately oriented towards that of an exhibition-storage.