THE MAIOLICA FLOORS OF THE AMALFI COAST: WHERE TO ADMIRE THEM

The city of Vietri sul Mare has a long tradition of working with ceramic objects and tiled floors; certain documents on this production date back to the 16th century, although it is probably even older. The ceramic workshops in which the materials were processed were called "faenzere." The term comes from the city of Faenza, which is considered the birthplace of ceramics. Initially used only in the creation of everyday objects such as pottery, containers and bowls, ceramics soon became the favored material for the production of objects of worship and for the decoration of the churches of the Coast, which were endowed over the centuries with marvelous bell towers, domes and tiled floors. The 17th century was the century of greatest expansion and growth for Vietri faenzeras, thanks in part to the increase in sea trade with Calabria and Sicily. The 19th century also saw an increase in the range of colors available (prominent among which were green and blue, reminiscent of the mountains and the sea), and faenzeras multiplied until, at the end of World War I, Vietri ceramic production also became internationally famous. This phase was precisely named the "German period," since Dutch and German artists came to the coast to forge business ties and export Vietrese art around the world. Some of the most beautiful Vietri tile floors were produced in these very faenzeras: let's see where you can find and admire them!

The church of S. Biagio in Amalfi is located in the upper part of the Vagliendola district, where it occupies a very singular position: in fact, its bell tower stands out at the apex of a block of flats built in clusters on a rocky spur overlooking the sea. Here the majolica floor was affixed in 1779, the year in which some restoration work took place. The glazed ceramic tiles depict a single design in floral type and cover the entire liturgical hall in the colors green, blue and yellow.

In the hamlet of Figlino in Tramonti is the church of St. Peter the Apostle, of Byzantine origin. In the 18th century it acquired a Baroque style, and the church was enriched with fine stucco work, canvases by the painter Domenico Ferrara and, above all, a floor of majolica (in this case from Capodimonte) depicting natural scenes, including birds, floral motifs and fruit.

Scala Cathedral is the religious heart of the city. It dates back to the 11th century and has undergone many transformations, going from Romanesque-Gothic to Rococo style in the 18th century. Many precious artifacts are kept inside, and in the transept we find a valuable majolica floor, in which angels and floral decorations are depicted, framing the gridiron, the instrument symbolizing the martyrdom of St. Lawrence.

In the city center of Praiano is the Church of St. John the Baptist, built in the Romanesque style between the 11th and 12th centuries, which has a rectangular plan and a barrel vault. Inside, however, there are also elements of the Baroque style, including the floor with majolica tiles featuring natural elements of both flora and fauna. 

The church dedicated to St. Gennaro probably dates back to the 1300s, but was remodeled in the 17th century. The structure has a Latin cross and three naves, and the floor is entirely tiled, although the 1777 original was replaced by a copy in 1966. It reproduces polychrome geometries and floral elements in very bright colors.

Dating from 1607, the church of St. Anthony has a single nave with six side chapels. Here the Vietri majolica floor, from the De Simone/Tajani faenzera, was assembled in 1720 during renovations. It reproduces colorful geometric motifs.

In the hamlet of Montepertuso, that is, in the upper part of Positano, we find the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, also called the "New Church." Endowed with a distinctive elliptical shape and a domed roof, here too we find a fine majolica floor with phytomorphic decorations, that is, reproducing plants and other vegetal organisms, typical of Campania's churches of the 1700s.