Italianate – Italian Style Ceramic Tiles

The steps of Caltagirone are a fine example of Italianate ceramic tiles, every step, a new visual experience, much like De Ferranti's collection.

The use of Italian tile began in the Middle Ages when ceramic tile became a useful architectural medium for the decoration of walls and floors in religious and public building. The tiles, mostly hand decorated majolica, had their origin as a local handcraft. The local artisans, in turn borrowed from the hexagonal terracotta tiles prevalent in the late Roman Empire, and other medieval decorative tiles. By then, Islamic and Moresque tiles had also been introduced to Christian Europe.

Italian majolica handcrafters developed new styles, adapted from those types, to fit the changing modes and patterns of interior decoration in both public and private buildings.

De Ferranti works exclusively with a company in Sicily that is truly rooted in history. the techniques and methodology have remain unchanged for centuries, craft that has been passed from father to son.

Sicilian Maiolica and Italianate Ceramic Tiles

De Ferranti's Italianate ceramic tiles are made in Sicily on a handmade terracotta biscuit, or biscotto, before being hand-painted or brushed and fired. The collection draws on the floral, geometric and arabesque language of historic Sicilian and Neapolitan pavements, with colour, brushwork and small surface variations forming an integral part of the material.

Some original Sicilian majolica installations still survive in place. Palermo's Oratory of Carminello retains an 18th-century hall floor and a late 17th-century crypt floor, while majolica panels dated 1715 remain on the external facade of the Mother Church in Carini. Collections such as Stanze al Genio in Palermo also safeguard tiles spanning several centuries, allowing the changing pattern language of southern Italian maiolica to be studied in detail.

Within the collection, Paternò references the decorated steps of Caltagirone, Nora Polychrome develops a four-tile floral and geometric repeat, and Pennello Washed Denim Blue offers a quieter brushed field surface.

The handmade terracotta body used for De Ferranti's Italianate tiles is the same biscuit, or biscotto, used for the Neisha Crosland ceramic collections, creating a direct material connection between Sicilian craft and Neisha's contemporary pattern work.

Formats, Finishes and Project Use

Standard tiles are 20 x 20 x 2 cm. Certain designs can also be produced at 10 x 10 x 2 cm, while both formats may be reduced to approximately 1 cm for wall projects. Selected patterns can also be transposed onto glazed lava for a different mineral character. Please confirm the intended floor, wall, wet-area or exterior use, together with thickness, format and installation requirements, at specification stage.

Project Guidance and Enquiries

For project guidance, availability, pricing, samples or further information, please contact us. Your enquiry will come directly to De Ferranti, and we will be pleased to discuss suitability, quantities, lead times and options for your project.