d’Oro e Turchese. Le ceramiche Borghese di Pratica di Mare

The House Museum Boncompagni Ludovisi hosts d'Oro e Turchese. Le ceramiche Borghese di Pratica di Mare (Gold and Turquoise. The Borghese Ceramics of Pratica di Mare), which celebrates the centenary of the opening of the Artistic Ceramics Factory of Pratica di Mare (1924-2024).

The exhibition features around three hundred objects that tell the story of the ceramic factory and the woman who strongly desired, founded and carried it forward for decades: Maria Monroy, the wife of Prince Camillo Borghese.

The sumptuous table decorations resplendent in gold, silver and turquoise nuances, the objects created in imitation of those found in the excavations of ancient Lavinium, and the amusing animalia bear witness to the special character of the Pratica di Mare factory.

Maria Monroy Borghese undertook the ceramic workshop to offer job opportunities to an economically depressed area and to promote apprenticeships especially among unmarried women with children.

The entire project, curated by Daria Borghese, is therefore a female-dominated story, the result of the intertwining of the ancient trade of the ceramist, the philanthropy of the Roman nobility and the pedagogical theories of the time.

The production directors, who took turns over the years, from Renzo Cellini to Francesco Caraglia, were flanked by the talent of the Borghese princess, who conceived the artefacts and perfected the firing techniques. The factory continued production even after the death of the princess - in 1964 - and until 2011, the year of its closure.

Among the works on display, you can admire the creations of artists such as Duilio Cambellotti and Olga Modigliani, Amedeo's cousin, a precious testimony of the extraordinary production in Rome and Lazio.