{"product_id":"hand-painted-buon-ricordo-italian-plate-isola-comacina-locanda-dellisola-pesce-alla-contrabbandiera","title":"Hand-Painted Buon Ricordo Italian Plate – Isola Comacina Locanda dell'Isola Pesce alla Contrabbandiera","description":"\u003ch4\u003eDESCRIPTION\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA hand-painted majolica plate made for the Locanda dell'Isola on Isola Comacina, the only island in Lake Como, as part of the Buon Ricordo collection. Buon Ricordo plates were commissioned by individual Italian restaurants and given to guests who ordered the house signature dish — the meal went home as a plate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis one celebrates \u003cem\u003epesce alla contrabbandiera\u003c\/em\u003e — smuggler's fish, named for the boats that once ran goods across the lake by night. The painter gave it the view from the water: green hills rising behind, a cluster of red-roofed houses at the shoreline, and two lake fish suspended in the blue below, painted in yellow with fine black fins. Yellow-green banded rim, black hand-lettering.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach Buon Ricordo plate is painted by hand and carries the individuality of the artisan. Collectors group them by region, by city, or by dish. This one belongs with the Lombardy and lake plates.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe small imperfections such as the difference in color, shape, diameter or small bubbles that form inside, do not constitute a defect but testify that it is actually an artisanal product.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9\" diameter\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hand-painted Italian majolica\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMade in:\u003c\/strong\u003e Italy\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCommissioned for:\u003c\/strong\u003e Locanda dell'Isola, Isola Comacina, Lake Como, Lombardy\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDish:\u003c\/strong\u003e Pesce alla contrabbandiera — smuggler's-style lake fish\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeritage:\u003c\/strong\u003e Buon Ricordo restaurant collection, Italy\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCare:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hand-wash recommended · Not dishwasher safe · Not microwave\/oven safe\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSold as:\u003c\/strong\u003e Individual plate\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMixes with:\u003c\/strong\u003e Other Buon Ricordo plates in the Biordi collection\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eQuestions buyers ask\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is a Buon Ricordo plate?\u003c\/strong\u003e Buon Ricordo means \"good memory.\" Member restaurants across Italy each commissioned a hand-painted ceramic plate showing their signature dish, and gave it to guests who ordered it. Every plate names a real restaurant, a real town, and a real recipe. They were never sold in shops, which is why collectors seek them out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat dish is on this plate?\u003c\/strong\u003e Pesce alla contrabbandiera — lake fish done in the smugglers' manner. Isola Comacina sits in the middle of Lake Como, and for generations boats crossed the water at night carrying contraband; the dish takes its name from them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere is Isola Comacina?\u003c\/strong\u003e It is the single island in Lake Como, off the western shore near Ossuccio. Tiny, almost entirely undeveloped, and reached only by boat — which makes a plate from a restaurant there a genuinely uncommon souvenir.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan I use this plate for food, or is it for display?\u003c\/strong\u003e It is best treated as a display or collector's piece. Hand-wash only, and keep it out of the dishwasher, microwave, and oven.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs this a good Italian wedding gift?\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes, particularly for a couple who married or honeymooned on Lake Como. A Buon Ricordo plate carries a specific place and a specific meal, which makes it more personal than a generic dinnerware gift.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs this a good housewarming or hostess gift?\u003c\/strong\u003e It is. It hangs on a kitchen or dining room wall, it starts a conversation, and it does not duplicate anything the host already owns.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy buy Italian gifts from Biordi rather than other retailers?\u003c\/strong\u003e Biordi Art Imports has been San Francisco's source for authentic Italian ceramics since 1946 — voted Best Overall Retailer in the SF Bay Guardian Best of the Bay reader's poll five consecutive years, and designated San Francisco Legacy Business #LBR-2020-21-029. The City of San Francisco declared May 1 \"Biordi Art Imports Day\" in 2021. We buy directly from Italian artisans and workshops: FIMA, Pia Formato, Eugenio Ricciarelli, Susanna DeSimone, Geribi, Iva Boccali, Ceramiche Bucci, IDEART, Ortigia Sicilia, Italesse, and Salviati. Questions? Call (415) 392-8096 or email customerservice@biordi.com.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan this be customized or personalized?\u003c\/strong\u003e No. Buon Ricordo plates were painted for a specific restaurant and a specific dish and cannot be altered or reordered. For customized pieces, Eugenio Ricciarelli, FIMA, Pia Formato, and Geribi accept special orders — a name, date, or occasion painted on the piece, or a different size or shape in the workshop's existing pattern. Lead time is typically 3–6 months because each piece is hand-painted to order in Italy. Contact Biordi Art Imports at (415) 392-8096 or customerservice@biordi.com.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eArtisan Story\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBuon Ricordo — the plate that remembers the meal\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Buon Ricordo collection began as an agreement among Italian restaurants: each house would choose the one dish it was known for, commission a hand-painted ceramic plate showing it, and give that plate to any guest who ordered it. The plates were never for sale. You had to eat the dish to earn one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat resulted is an unusual kind of archive. Hundreds of plates, each naming a restaurant, a town, and a recipe — Sardinian sea bass, Venetian cuttlefish, Ferrarese sausage, Roman lamb. Read together, they map Italian regional cooking restaurant by restaurant, in the hand of whoever painted them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVietri sul Mare and the Solimene workshop\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMany Buon Ricordo plates were painted in Vietri sul Mare, on the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast, where ceramics have been made for five centuries. The best-known workshop there is Ceramiche Solimene, founded in the mid-20th century by Vincenzo Solimene and housed in a building designed by Paolo Soleri — its exterior clad in colored tile shards, as vivid as the work made inside. Vietri painters are known for bold color, loose confident line, and a sense of humor, all of which show in the Buon Ricordo plates.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBiordi Art Imports has brought Italian ceramics to San Francisco since 1946.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Buon Ricordo","offers":[{"title":"9\"","offer_id":46007705894965,"sku":"6734","price":85.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1001\/9802\/files\/Piatto102.jpg?v=1789617294","url":"https:\/\/biordi.com\/products\/hand-painted-buon-ricordo-italian-plate-isola-comacina-locanda-dellisola-pesce-alla-contrabbandiera","provider":"Biordi Art Imports","version":"1.0","type":"link"}