During the Renaissance, Italian cities were partitioned into districts or neighborhoods called Contrade to supply troops to the military. Today, the most celebrated Contrade are of Siena, where 17 Contrade, represented by a symbol or animal, compete in the Piazza del Campo for pride and the glory of winning in a biannual horse race called the Palio di Siena, which dates back to 1656.
In 1986, Walter Staccioli began producing ceramic pieces incorporating the Contrade patterns of Siena. Today, based upon each Contrada’s individual flag that festoons rider and horse in events surrounding the Palio di Siena, Sonia Staccioli and her sister Jada carry on the traditions. These works of art can only be found exclusively at Biordi and the Staccioli workshop at the Piazza del Campo in Siena.

Love of the material, respect for tradition and the desire to experiment, are the ingredients to ND Dolfi designs. The Dolfi family has decades of experience in the production of Italian majolica. Giovanni Dolfi, in 1941 began producing majolica in the castle that dominates Montelupo. In 1994, his son Silvano began an independent company, ND Dolfi Ceramics. Following in the footsteps of Silvano Dolfi, who managed the company until 2009, and awarded by the Tuscan region with Maestro Artigiano's gold medal, the daughters Daria and Natalia with her husband Carlo manage the business today.

Famiglia! The Ribigini family has been producing majolica for many generations. Gerardo owns the workshop. His Father organized a group of artists after the war and built a factory for 200 workers. When Gerardo was 15 he began his apprenticeship, and started the business at age of 20. Now Gerardo, and his daughter, Claudia, hand-craft one of the most popular designs sold at Biordi, the peacock feather ceramic design.

Ivana and Saura Vignoli, sisters, in Faenza, Italy a short drive from the Adriatic Sea, developed a special technique named “Full-fire Reduction”. The technique involves unique glazes and firing styles, to create a spectacular copper sheen. These techniques offer a modern Italian aesthetic. The sea, an important influence to their family’s history is honored through schools of sardines or anchovies gracing their creations.