My fiancé and I are planning a honeymoon to Italy. We'll be spending time in Venice, Tuscany, Rome and possibly the Amalfi Coast. I really want to buy some of the beautiful and colorful Italian pottery while I am there. Where would be the best place to buy these pieces, and how expensive are they? (Obviously, costs vary depending on what you buy, but if anyone has recently bought some and would tell me what you got and for how much, it would be most helpful).

I am not an expert in this area, but twice I've purchased a few small pieces in Orvieto and could kick myself for not buying more (especially larger plates and bowls) when I had the chance. I only bought some small items mostly as gifts. The most I probably spent on any 1 item was maybe $10 but those were in the days of a stronger dollar. I would think you'd get a better deal in the smaller towns of tuscany, than the big tourist centers like Rome and Venice.

Agreed. We have bought several large serving pieces from various towns - Assisi, Siena etc - at incredibly low prices. I got one fish serving dish for about $12 when it was $75 in Bloomies. But this was about 6 years ago. The only fun part is figuring how to get it all packed into your luggage.

Deruta is famous for its pottery.

if yoou go to the amalfi coast go to the shops in positano ass there are many that just have pottery. it goes from cheap to very expensive depending on what you are looking at

I looked on the Fodors destination guides for Tuscany, and it appears that Montelupo Fiorentino is the place to go. I checked on a map and it looks like it's just west and a little south of Florence. There were some other listings as well in other cities/towns, but Montelupo was heavily concentrated as far as ceramics are concerned.

I'll be watching this thread too because I am interested in buying ceramics on my trip.

Deruta is a small town in Umbria that is made up mostly of ceramic shops. If you'd like to see what the pottery looks like look up Deruta on Google and I'm sure you will get some sites that show the pottery. It is fairly expensive (especially now), but it is much more expensive in the US. I will be going to Bassano del Grappa in April, which, along with some surrounding towns, seems to be a pottery center. Hope this helps.

Beautiful pottery is pretty available all over Tuscany and on the Amalfi Coast. Vietri sul Mar on the AC has one pottery shop after another, we bought quite a lot and some in our group bought numerous place settings in SARA in that town. Also as already posted, Deruta in Umbria has a wide range of styles and prices, with the more expensive being the shops up in the old town where one can see the artisans working. I am a sucker for plates and bowls and have managed to bring home lots of them, which I use constantly. Be sure to get the pieces bubble wrapped for your trip home.

In 2002 we visited Faenza. Faenza became famous for its ceramic work in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance period. There was a pottery studio there called La Vecchia Faenza. They had a workshop where you could watch them make the ceramics. They made everthing from Christmas ornaments to water pitchers. And, they even shipped! I would stop again if I was in the neighborhood.

Hi,
If you can, get to Deruta. There are a lot of pottery shops that sell first and seconds. They are closed for lunch, so go early or later in the day, after 1:00. The prices were good. They can put a whole set of dishes together for you, or you can buy the big platters etc. Also they make pottery in Ravello. There is a wonderful shop there. The pottery in Ravello appered to be more sophisticated and more expensive. It is so much fun to look and buy. Enjoy!!

Hi
When we were in Deruta this past summer, we stopped into the Geribi store, the ceramics were so beautiful we bought a 4 piece place setting. They shipped it to us in Conn. It wasn't cheap.

We also went into the San Lorenzo Fornace also in Deruta and were also overwhelmed by their work, we bought a tabletop!! That is also being shipped. That was a very expensive half day! Check out the Geribi website.
http://www.geribi.com/

The ceramics shop in Ravello that we spent a fortune on (but it was amazing) was Ceramiche d'Arte which is at http://www.ceramichedarte.com/ if you want to browse ahead of time. I also got a gorgeous hanging lamp in a lemon pattern for the kitchen at Eureka in Anacapri (http://www.eurekacapri.it/en/home.htm but no shopping online!). Those were the two best places I found on the Amalfi Coast, and we spent <i>quite</i> a bit of time browsing...enjoy!

Mamma Love--Re Montelupo, we stopped there a year ago and wandered about the small village without finding much in showrooms-3 or 4 places. I feel like we managed to somehow miss what they have to offer. Anyone have directions or suggestions?
OTOH-We visited Deruta on more than one occasion and still maintain contact with one of the shops. Great selection, showrooms and variety--and they really know how to pack the stuff. Its a great pilgrimage and the villages in the area--Bettona and Torgiana are interesting as well.
Ciao-Paul

Santa Barbara, California! Seriously - there's a place there called the Italian Pottery Outlet. You walk in and you're overwhelmed by the beautiful, bright colors. They have a website if you want to see what they have. Of course, it's more fun to buy in Italy...

Thanks for the replies. We will definitely be in Ravello and can probably make a stop by Orvieto. I'm not sure where Deruta is, so I don't know if that is possible. I'm looking more for larger serving bowls and platters and maybe olive oil bottles with bright colors. Where would the most inexpensive of these be found?

There is a shop in Ravello that I love. I can't remember the name, but all you have to do is ask for Margarite's ceramic shop. I have purchased an entire set of pottery from her and went back two years later and bought a large ceramic table top. She shipped it all to me and it was fine.

I purchased some lovely pieces from a shop in Siena called Babel.
It is about 2 streets &quot;down the hill&quot; from the Duomo.
Just make sure you find out the cost if you ship it.
not only could there be shipping charges, but also duty owed when it comes into the country.

Have a lovely time!

If you are looking for it, you will see pottery almost everywhere. I've bought small and medium-sized pieces (bowls, pitchers, etc.) in shops in Florence, Siena, and Sorrento, and in the open air San Lorenzo market in Florence. Prices are all over the map, but less than you'd pay for the same items in the U.S.
I don't recall seeing much pottery in Rome or Venice, though, so I'd recommend you concentrate your effort in Tuscany and Amalfi, areas where the pottery industry is concentrated.

Yes, you will find pottery everywhere. However you get what you pay for. I found that the heavier, better-made ceramics cost more, but is worth it in the long run if you want a piece that lasts. The cheap, flimsy stuff in a lot of tourist stands was lower priced but felt as cheap as it was. I also paid the man in Anacapri to ship a large box with all of my mother and my purchases, and that too was worth it for avoiding the hassle of not only getting it all off Capri, but getting it home.

The best place for pottery is Vietri, south of Positano. You can go to the warehouse to pick out pieces that will not be exported due to minor flaws. The only downside is if you are looking for a full dish set with 4 or more place settings you may need to search through piles of dishes. The only flaws I saw were minor (in the paint). (You pay retail in US and still see those flaws because they are hand-painted.) However, I purchased dinnerware for 4, along with several serving bowls, platters and hors d'ouerve dishes and they are beautiful. Three times the price at Williams-Sonoma. Plus there were 4 in my group who wanted to ship to the US. They allowed all of us to ship for $150.00US. That included them packing and shipping the dishes and sending to 4 separate addresses!