Deruta

A lovely and “not to be missed” hill town in Umbria.  An easy and very enjoyable drive from Genius Loci through small country roads will get you to this quaint walled town.  Two years ago when we first visited Deruta, we were very pleasantly surprised to walk through the city gate to find an antique fair was underway wrapping itself through the center of this town. 
For two friends who love to antique here in the states, to be in Italy, on a beautiful warm day, in a quaint hill town, with an antique fair – WE WERE IN HEAVEN!

But Deruta did not get its reputation for these lovely antique fairs, but is most notably known for its ceramics which started in the early middle ages.  Mary and Michael from Genius Loci had recommended we visit one particular artesian; Giulio Gialletti known for the high quality of work and dedication to detail.  They have the most beautiful, handmade pieces of many sizes.  We have bought small pieces to bring back in our suitcases, as well as placed orders of larger pieces to be shipped to the United States.    

There are many fond and funny memories of our time in Deruta, including an incident with hazard lights on the car, going the wrong way on the freeway, being “directionally challenged”, etc. … stories for another day perhaps.