Nove - Pottery Shopping

If, and when, you visit Northern Italy, you MUST make a trip to Nove, Italy, the epicenter of Italian ceramics.Because if you love pottery, you will think you have died and gone to heaven. We took a late start in the morning but managed to arrive prior to Reposo. Our first shop was nothing to write home about it, so I'll skip the little hole in the place. Our next stop was a place called Elios. Most of the ceramic shops in Nove either look like someone's backyard garage or a warehouse, so the front of Elios didn't phase me. When we walked into the shop, i knew right then and there I would be coming out with something in hand. I immediately fell in love with their hand painted and designed pumpkin platters and pitchers. It only took a matter of minutes before I decided on the platter and pitcher. Then i set my eyes on a rooster statue and thought, every good country home needs a rooster and he was going to be mine. After leaving there we headed to another store right up the road from the store, it's a place frequented by Americans and refered to a as VBC. The lower level was indeed the workshop area, but when you walked up the stairs, the ceramics pieces went on and on. There are several unique pieces but several more pieces made from popular companies like Lenox, Tiffany, and Pottery Barn. I found a fall themed pie dish holder, a leaf platter, two olive oil holders, two spoon rests, a mug for a friend, and a trivet. In addition to these items, I had to have a chicken to my rooster and therefore, picked up my first chicken pitcher.

Nove is also home to the original "Chicken Pitcher". According to the history of the the chicken pitcher, during the Renaissance period, the Medicis were the wealthiest and most powerful family in Italy. In addition to the vast amount of land, the family were also immense patrons of the arts – many timeless musicians and artists owe their fame to a Medici. Giuliano Medici was a bit of a party animal and was known to throw a bash at the drop of a hat. The Pazzis (a rival family) played on this trait and had an internal contact suggest to Giuliano that a party be held in the little village of Gallina. He’d never had a party there before and that, in and of itself, was a good enough reason so plans commenced. The Pazzis planned on attacking Giuliano in the middle of the night as he slept off the copious amounts of wine he’d ingested earlier. The attackers snuck into Gallina and had to cross a yard to get to the sleeping Medici. Fortunately for him, the yard happened to be full of chickens which began cackling in a flurry of excitement when the intruders entered. The guards were awakened by the commotion and caught the would-be assassins before they could get to Giuliano. Of course, this was cause for another party and Giuliano commissioned ceramic wine pitchers to be made in the likeness of the chickens for their lifesaving warning. A chicken pitcher is now given by Italians to friends and family to help ward off enemies and misfortune.

We returned two days later, and earlier in the day, and finished visiting a few of the vendors we originally missed. This time we visited Ceramiche Larry, a man you makes some really nice sign pieces. I of course purchased one of his signs and am awaiting its completion. We also visited another popular store, Ancora. This is another shop that also makes pieces for Lenox and Pottery Barn. After visiting a couple more little shops, we headed back home. I enjoyed the trip and look forward to traveling back at the end of September to check out the new holiday pottery they will have!

Here are a couple of the locations I visited:

Ceramich D’Arte San Marco
Via Martini 46
36055 Nove
(+39)0424-590003

Caramiche Artistiche Ancora
Via Martini 26/28
36055 Nove
(+39)0424-5900023

La Ceramica VBC
Via Molini 45
36005 Nove
(+39)0424-590026

Ceramiche Artistiche Marco Pizzato
Via Molini 67
36055 Nove
(+39)0424-590082

Ceramiche Larry S.K.G. s.n.c.
Via Martini, 50
36055 Nove (Vicenza)
(+39) 0424 590108 

Ceramiche Elios s.n.c.
Via Rivarotta, 18
36061 Marchesane Bassano Del Grappa
(+39) 0424 590888