The art of ceramics
In 1692, after the terrible earthquake which laid the whole town waste, the Duke of Camastra, ruler of the area, transferred the population of the town downhill, along the coast, where they continued the old tradition of kneading clay and mud together. Using the hill clay they created jars, amphorae, jugs, plates, bricks and tiles which soon were widely used and appreciated in the whole island.This is the origin of a 300 year-old industry, derived from the project of a prince and the strong and active will of the population of the town of Santo Stefano di Camastra. It is in this town that Pippo Torcivia, after completing his education at the Istituto D'arte in Santo Stefano di Camastra and at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Palermo, set up his handicraft activity, carrying on the tradition of the ceramists of Santo Stefano but trying, at the same time, to introduce important innovations into the shapes of the items and the colours used, which confer on his ceramics a touch of originality.