Deruta (pronounced Derùta) is an Italian town of 9 590 inhabitants in the province of Perugia, known for the production of artistic ceramics. Located on a hill located 15 kilometers from Perugia and 150 from Rome, it is included among the most beautiful villages in Italy.
Church of San Francesco from which Perugino's fresco comes: Eternal
Father with saints Rocco and Romano
Church of Sant'Antonio Abate with
frescoes by Bartolomeo Caporali and Giovanni Battista Caporali
Sanctuary of the Madonna del Bagno with over 700 majolica votive
offerings.
Church of Sant'Angelo from which the floor of the Church
of San Francesco came.
Church of the Madonna della Cerasa or of
Divine Love, located in the Valley.
Church of Sant'Anna located in
the village.
Church of the Madonna delle Piaggie which is located
along the Via Tiberina.
Church of Santa Maria di Roncione located
near the town.
Church of the Madonna del Fanciullo in nearby
Fanciullata.
Church of the Madonna dei Pantanelli in nearby San
Nicolò di Celle.
Porta Sant'Angelo is the main gate that allows access to the historic
center
Porta Tuderte or del Borgo or del Cerro
Porta Perugina or
della Valle
Consuls Square
Piazza Benincasa overlooked by the church of
Sant'Antonio Abate
San Salvatore kiln, part of the Regional Ceramics Museum complex
accessible to the public.
Former Fornace Grazia
Furnace by
Francesco Baiano
Furnace by Sergio Calzuola
Municipal art gallery
Regional Museum of Ceramics
Museum of the
Grazia majolica factory
Casalina Natural History Museum
On November 25, the feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, patron
saint of ceramists and Saint Simplicio, patron saint of the city, the
ceramists' festival takes place, as well as the award ceremony in church
for the oldest ceramists in the town.
The Palio della Brocca takes
place on the first Sunday of September, a historical re-enactment with a
nineteenth-century setting, in which the three districts Piazza, Valle
and Borgo compete in competitions inspired by the typical production of
artistic ceramics. The event is inspired by the document of the
historian Giuseppe Bianconi which recalls the gestation of the
construction of the fountain and the new aqueduct: "the local judiciary
and council in 1844 resolved to provide abundant drinking water, also so
that the art of majolica, the ancient pride of the place and currently
resource of the population".
The most probable origin of the toponym is the Latin díruta, past participle of diruere, that is: demolished, ruined and landslide, steep. From these last meanings the name Déruta seems to have originated.
The origins of
Deruta remain partly obscure. The historian and annalist Felice
Ciatti (1592-1642) hypothesizes that the city was founded by the
Perugians fleeing following the fire of Perugia, final act of the
Bellum Perusinum (41-40 BC), for Ciatti the toponym it would
therefore derive from the Latin diruo ("to destroy"), from which
Diruta ("destroyed"). Of the same opinion is the historian Cesare
Caporali (1531-1601), who would find confirmation of this origin in
the toponym of Perugia Vecchia, a locality in the Deruta district of
Castelleone. The humanist Flavio Biondo, who nevertheless cites
Deruta ("After the Chiascio river flows into the Tiber, at first,
not far from the Tiber, lies the lively town of Deruta"), challenges
Caporali stating that this name does not appear in the land registry
of the city before the seventeenth century, therefore not connecting
it to the Bellum Perusinum. Many have tried, over the centuries,
hypotheses on the derivation of the toponym, including Ruta, Rupta,
Druida.
It has certainly always been a valid bulwark of
Perugia to the south, towards Todi. The aspect of a fortified castle
still bears witness to this role, which the historic center retains.
There are numerous testimonies of a residential presence in
Roman times, all confirmed by characteristic architectural remains,
such as capitals, amphorae and epigraphs, still visible today in the
atrium of the Town Hall. From the discovery of a fragment of a
decorative plate from the 7th century, we can trace the presence of
a flourishing and operational village already in the early Middle
Ages.
Towards the year one thousand, the Emperor Otto III
ceded the country to some Germanic nobles, conferring them the title
of Nobiles de Deruta. In the thirteenth century Deruta has its own
statute (lost), followed in 1456 by a new document in the
vernacular. The latter foresees the presence in the castle, as well
as a podestà sent from Perugia, of four good men, elected from among
the inhabitants. The continuous plagues of the second half of the
fifteenth century exterminated the population, so much so as to
result in a reduction of the walls.
During the War of the
Salt (1540), Deruta, after siding against the Pope, even handed over
the keys of the town to Pier Luigi Farnese, a merchant captain in
the pay of the pope, but nevertheless suffered looting and
devastation. The subjection of Perugia to the Church also brought
the town a long period of peace. It was in these years that the
maximum development of artistic majolica processing took place, an
activity that, over the centuries, has made Deruta known throughout
the world.
The submission to the papal government lasted
until 1860, apart from two brief interruptions related to French
rule: between 1798 and 1800 Deruta was included in the Roman
Republic as the fourth canton of the Trasimeno Department and,
between 1809 and 1814, was part of the Napoleonic Empire.
The coat of arms representing the Municipality has had a troubled history; at first it was represented by a large earthenware vase, similar to the mithridatic vase, which contained antidotes against poisons. Later it was replaced by a two-tiered crenellated tower, topped by a rue plant. Following the union with the city of Perugia, the griffin (municipal symbol of the capital) also appeared, near the tower of the coat of arms.
Craftsmanship in Deruta is identified with the production of artistic
majolica. The oldest document on this form of art dates back to 12
August 1290. In this period, objects of common use were produced, with
little decoration; the dominant colors are ramin green obtained from the
oxidation of copper and manganese brown.
In the following
centuries, Deruta majolica reached its maximum splendor, spreading in
the sixteenth century to the major Italian squares: artists such as
Giacomo Mancini known as El Frate and Francesco Urbini signed works of
great importance. Pump plates, amateur and straw cups and noble coats of
arms present a repertoire of motifs with female figures, mythological
scenes, battles and sacred images. The color palette is enriched with
orange, blue and yellow. The luster technique also appears, with golden
reflections in the most valuable works. The first luster piece,
attributed to Deruta, is dated 1501, and is a relief plaque depicting
the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, preserved in the Victoria and Albert
Museum in London.
Floors such as that of the church of San
Francesco in Deruta, of Santa Maria Maggiore in Spello or of the
sacristy of San Pietro in Perugia are further evidence of the best
production of Deruta majolica. Over time, the style and decorations
transformed into the "compendium", with quick strokes, and the
"calligraphic", with intertwining of flowers, leaves, arabesques, birds
and other animals.
In Deruta there are shops, laboratories,
factories, exhibition rooms and two ceramic art schools: the Alpinolo
Magnini State Institute of Art and the Romano Ranieri School of Ceramic
Art.
The historic football club par excellence in the country is Deruta (founded in 1926) which also played in the Serie D championship. There are 3 football clubs: Real Deruta (which also has a women's 11-a-side football team) and San Nicolò who play in the first regional category and Atletico Sant'Angelo who play in the second regional category. Furthermore, there is another club that only owns the youth sector: Deruta-San Nicolò. Basketball is present, represented by the Deruta Basket Amateur Association, which plays in the top regional championship (C2). Another sport present in Deruta is volleyball, with a club made up of a single first division team of girls aged 14 and over, not only from Deruta, but also from Marsciano. These two cities together formed the Pallavolo Media Umbria company.