The decorative and artistic activities of artisans in the Liri Valley have very ancient origins, like the city of Arpino itself.
In Arpino, Ceramic Art was not able to obtain that remarkable impulse that Wool Art did, making the town Arpino a very important wool centre of the Bourbon reign.
However the 18th century, that had seen the return of the very ancient tradition of wool working, brought a very small but new development in the ceramic sector. This production, as others of the period, was deeply influenced by the great Neapolitan school for the geographical position of the town (inside the Kingdom of Naples). Of the many terracotta objects dating back from the Roman era, belonging to the archaeological patrimony of the town and badly piled up in the Palazzo Spaccamela, many were certainly of local fabrication.
Traces of ancient furnaces (brick kilns) with production of clay hand-manufactured articles dating back to the Middle Ages, have been found at the Convent of San Lorenzo in the area of S. Francesco and in the underground rooms of the Castle of Ladislaus.
Even though there is no certainty about the quality and the quantity of laboratories and factories of this kind, the role carried out by the town itself and the presence of high quality clay quarries (up till a few years ago an important brick industry was active in the area of “Fornace”), makes us suppose that such activities have been constantly present in the territory of Arpino. We can certainly affirm that between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century a quite important ceramics factory existed in Arpino. This development lasted, even though alternately, until the years of the Second World War (in 1991 the hand-manufactured ceramics of Arpino were included in the International Exhibition of Rome), above all thanks to the great skilfulness of two families occupied, even though differently, in this field: the Palma family and the Mastroianni family, that had produced ceramics in their laboratories in the area of Civita Falconara for various generations.
The Palma family were occupied in the production of crockery for everyday use: dishes, soup-tureens, flower vases, the “Cannata” and the famous “Asso di Coppe”, the brazier that was used to heat many of the houses of Arpino, and that reminds of the typical Neapolitan game-card for its form.
The Mastroiannis, on the contrary, were mainly a family of “figurinai”, which means that they were occupied in the production of small statues in the typical costume of Ciociaria, both in terracotta and in clay, whilst a separate production was composed of small statues for cribs. Another “singular and almost mythical” personage was Alessandro Caricchia (1850-1931), who created tiny statues for cribs and vases in clay or mud.

The Mastroianni Ceramists

The first documents that certify the presence in Arpino of a ceramics factory belonging to the Mastroianni family date back to 1913, and prove the presence of a ceramics laboratory since 1807. This factory was famous in the past principally for its production of small statues for cribs, carried out exclusively with the mould technique. Considering the artisans’ tradition of handing on the trade from father to son, we can deduce that the family of Felice Mastroianni, in charge at the time, had carried out this profession for many generations.
The last representative of this famous family is the maestro Emilio Mastroianni, an eclectic artisan, a very capable “figurinaio” ceramist, very well known for his creation of “Pasquarelle”, small statues for cribs representing shepherds with gifts, men and women occupied in their jobs and in everyday attitudes, domestic animals and houses. Famous and particular for their form are also the “Campanelle”, small ceramic bells that tradition dates back to 1712, year in which a painting of the Madonna of Loreto was moved to Arpino and the bells of the town started to ring by themselves. The festivity of the “Campanelle” began, and these little ceramic bells were sold for the occasion.
Through the years the Mastroiannis have been able to give life to a vast and very demanded production of which the oldest pieces are kept in the Museo delle Tradizioni Popolari of Rome, and these, as other more recent pieces, are an example of how the creations of this illustrious family were inspired by the great school of ceramics and of the Neapolitan crib.