Mosaics and mosaic making information from The
joy of shards Mosaics Resource
Caltagirone, Sicily
Caltagirone, in central-southern Sicily (a little to the south of Piazza Armeria), has a long tradition of making ceramics. It seems that few opportunities have been missed to put ceramics to use in decorating the town, and nowhere is this better demonstrated than at La Scala. La Scala is a stairway of 142 steps running up a hill to the church of Santa Maria del Monte. Each of the risers (the vertical part of the steps) has a unique set of hand-painted ceramic tiles, with usually two or three different designs of tile to each step. There are abstract and figurative tiles, heraldic and mythical themes, birds, fish, hunters, sailors, and purely decorative geometric patterns. The predominant colours are blues, greens and yellows. They certainly brighten up what is a fairly strenuous climb! Although the way up the hill has existed for hundreds of years, the tiled risers were only installed in the 1950s.
Near the foot of La Scala is the Corte Capitanale. At one end of this hall is a large modern mosaic celebrating the industrial, commercial and agricultural heritage of Sicily. At the other end is an even larger painted tile panel showing a historical battle scene. Elsewhere in the town are many examples of local ceramic work, perhaps most notably the relief tiles on the San Fransesco bridge. There are 140 photos of tiles and mosaic work in Caltagirone in this section. You can:
- Browse pages, each with several pictures, using the thumbnails below
- see all 140 pictures as thumbnails
- use the text links to all of the pictures at the foot of this page
- La scala, Caltagirone, with its 142 steps
- Tiles at the foot of the steps, with lions and repeating swirl designs
- Commemorative ceramic plaque dated 1954
- A commemorative plaque and surrounding tiles
- The two commemorative plaques with heraldic tiles inbetween
- Tiles with stylised birds
- Tiles with interlocking fretwork star design
- Beasts of burden
- Stylised peacocks and other tiles
- Stylised peacocks and other tiles
- View up the steps of La Scala
- Close up of the tiles with peacock design
- Tiles with birds and dancers
- Tiles with dancer design
- Mythical beasts with human heads
- A range of designs with Oriental themes
- A simple repeating patterns
- Camel and elephant tiles
- The central step here has three different tiles, while other have just one repeating design
- A close up of a repeating swirl design
- A griffon and a half-man, half-bird creature
- Floral designs
- Floral designs and star patterns
- Deer tiles
- Star design tiles with six pointed symmetry
- A set of three tiles with dancers and a castle design
- Floral rosette tiles
- A king on his throne and reversed designs of horse riders with birds
- A range of tile designs
- Decorative designs
- Close up a design with a circle and interwoven cord
- Close up a castle tile design
- Ceramics shop next to the steps of La Scala
- Star design tiles
- View up the steps of La Scala
- Several tile designs
- A knight fighting a dragon
- Knot design
- Reversed birds design
- Sheilds with different motifs make up this row of four tiles
- Rosette design
- Octagonal tile design
- Half-man, half-reptile mythical beasts
- This floral design is more abstracted than the ones seen so far on the climb up the steps
- Interlocking Star of David design
- Dragons and half-human, half-reptile chimeras are a recurring theme
- View up the steps of La Scala
- Several steps with a predominately blue theme
- Blue floral design tiles
- When reversed and repeated, this design resembles a butterfly
- Looking down La Scala steps
- Continuing up the steps of La Scala
- Horse riders feature often on the tiles
- Blue floral designs
- Blue floral designs
- Abstracted bird and fish designs
- Blue floral design
- Steps with tiles with dark blue repeating patterns
- Birds, beasts and repeating tiles
- Close up of the head of a beast with a green forked tongue
- Knot design
- Steps with tiles with dark blue repeating patterns
- Close up of a knot design
- Tiles with alternative faces, showing wear and tear, and plants growing beneath the tiles
- Repeating design with ovals design
- Steps with tiles of beasts, decorative designs and faces
- A range of themes
- Repeating patterns, naturalistic flowers and stylised birds
- View up the steps of La Scala
- Tiles with roundels of portraits
- Tiles with the legend Ave Maria, dedicating the steps to the Madonna
- Madonna and child
- Faces in profile and floral designs
- One of these tiles is signed IPAC, Caltagirone 1955
- A sailing ship
- View up the steps of La Scala
- Bird and ornate floral designs
- Tile featuring rabbits, birds and floral designs
- Close up of a rabbit tile design
- Fish swimming left and right across the steps
- A range of decorative patterns
- A range of decorative patterns
- A range of themes
- Hunting themes from a set of three tiles
- Hunting themes from a set of three tiles
- Top-most steps of La Scala
- Looking down La Scala steps
- The top-most steps of La Scala have more modernistic designs
- Abstracted figures with individual faces
- Abstracted Roman eagles
- Ceramic tile panel at the top of La Scala
- Detail of a painted ceramic tile panel
- Ceramic tile panel featuring a long flight of steps like La Scala
- View from top of La Scala steps over the town of Caltagirone
- Terracotta tile panel in a wall near the top of La Scala
- Battle scene in a terracotta tile panel
- Detail of a painted ceramic tile panel
- View of the Sicilian heritage mosaic on a balcony in the Corte Capitanale hall
- The top section of the Sicilian heritage mosaic in the Corte Capitanale hall
- The lower section of the Sicilian heritage mosaic in the Corte Capitanale hall
- Detail of the banner and scene at the top of the mosaic
- The eagle emblem at the centre of the mosaic
- Detail of lizard
- A potter at the wheel
- Weaver at work
- Decorated horses
- Blacksmiths at work
- A tailor at work
- Carpenters at work
- Knights jousting
- Detail of a fruit basket from the harvest scene
- Gathering fruit in the orchards at harvest time
- Detail of a small child
- Detail of a cat under a chair
- Detail of a dog
- A man and child on a donkey
- Symbols of Sicily
- Symbol of Sicily at the foot of the mosaic
- Symbol of Sicily at the foot of the mosaic
- Symbol of Sicily at the foot of the mosaic
- Painted tiles on the balcony with the Sicilian heritage mosaic
- Painted tiles on the balcony with the Sicilian heritage mosaic
- Painted tiles on the balcony with the Sicilian heritage mosaic
- Painted tiles and the Sicilian heritage mosaic
- Painted tile panel of Niccolo Longobardi
- Painted tile panel of Innocenzo Martino
- Wall of Corte Capitanale hall with tile panels above the windows
- View across the Corte Capitanale hall
- Tile panel with battle scene
- Tile panel with battle scene and tiled balcony
- Part of the painted tile panel with battle scene
- Part of the painted tile panel with battle scene
- Part of the painted tile panel with battle scene
- Tile panels on the San Fransesco bridge, Caltagirone
- Detail of relief tiles on the San Fransesco bridge, Caltagirone
- Tile panels on the San Fransesco bridge, Caltagirone
- Relief tiles on the San Fransesco bridge, Caltagirone
- Tile panels on the San Fransesco bridge, Caltagirone
- Ceramic tiles on the dome of a church, Caltagirone
- Ceramic tiles on the dome of a church, Caltagirone
- Rainbow-style pattern of coloured tiles on a church spire
- Rainbow-style pattern of coloured tiles on a church spire
- Detail of rainbow-style tiles on church spire
- Ceramic ornament and tiles in a hotel room, Caltagirone
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