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The city is situated 15 kilometres south of Perugia on a hill that overlooks the valley of the
Tiber; the new part extends along the Via Tiberina, parallel to the E45 Road which goes towards
Rome. Of the ancient castle remain some tracts of wall, the arches of the three doors to the city and the characteristic medieval streets which lead into the Piazza dei Consoli, today the town hall, whose 14th century tower is adorned by Romanesque mullioned windows.
The town hall houses the ceramics museum, where beautiful local antique majolicas are
exhibited, and the picture gallery with pricelles paintings of various
periods: a painting by Niccolò Alunno from 1548; a banner of S. Antonio Abate by the same
artist; a Madonna with Child and Saints by the School of Pietro
Vannucci, known as Perugino; paintings by Amorosi; by
Gaulli; known as Baciccio; by Reni; by Graziani, known as Ciccio Napoletano; an illuminated missal of the 14th
century; altar-cloths of the 15th century.
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Deruta, Piazza dei Consoli ( photo
1920)
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Furthermore, there is a fresco of the saint Rocco and saint Romano with a view of the town (1476) recently attributed to Perugino.
Opposite the town hall rises the Romanesque- Gothic Church of S. Francesco with the adjancient convent where Pope Urban IV died on October 2 , 1264. The 14th century bell-tower has ogival mullioned windows. The interior, made up of one nave with polygonal apse, contains numerous 14th century frescoes by the Sienese school.
Especially notable on the left side of the altar is the martryrdom of St. Catherine of Alexandria (1339), PROTECTRESS OF Deruta’s ceramist who is celebrated every year on the Madonna, Child and Saint by Domenico Alfani. In thee nerby Piazza Benincasa stands the Church of St. Antonio Abate, in which one may admire a Madonna of Mercy with St. Francis and St. Bernard by Bartolomeo and G.B. Caporali featuring four scenes from the life of St. Antony which draw their inspiration from Signorelli ‘s frescoes of the Chapel of Brizio in the Cathedral of Orvieto. On the high altar is a 15th century statue of St. Antony in polychrome ceramics. The city is world-famous for its ceramic art, which dates back to the Middle Ages. The oldest and most important commissioned works date back to the 13th century. But the greatest development was reached by the master of Deruta beginning from the early 16th century. Thanks to the ever-growing fame of Deruta ceramists, their workshops were entrusted with palazzo dei Priori and of the Sacristy of thee Basilica of S.Pietro in Perugia, and of the Baglioni Chapel in Spello. In thee civic museum of Deruta one may admire pricelles remmants of the flooring of the Church of S. Francecso (1523-1524). Since then Deruta’s ceramics heve become famous for their decorative patterns and shapes. These vases, plates and other objects are exhibited in some of the world’s greatest museums as examples of remarkable pictorial quality. Among the best known ceramic master from Deruta are: Giacomo Mancini, known as “El Frate” (1545); Andrea di Cecco (1584). Lazzaro di Battista Faentino, Francesco Urbini, Gregorio Caselli (1770) and a certain “Paolo da Deruta” who in 1516 worked under the great ceramist Maestro Giorgio Andreoli from Gubbio.A unique documentation of Deruta’s ceramics is kept in the Church of madonna dei Bagni, which is 2 Kilometres south Deruta along the E45 Road. The walls of the Church are covered with votive ceramic tiles offered by believers from the 17th century until the present. In an extraordinary array of polychrome panels the visitor can follow the uninterrupted flow of Deruta’s ceramic tradition and what’s more, have a view of Umbrian and Italian life during the last three centuries. Today the production of artistic ceramics still constitutes the main activity of the town. With over 300 majolica workshops and stores as well as a State School for Ceramic Arts, Deruta faithfully continues its historic artistic traditions.
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