The artistic installation dedicated to the Sicilian Ceramic Routes was inaugurated at the Palazzo Lombardia belvedere
Milan, April 8, 2025 – For the first time ever, the Sicilian Region is participating in the Fuorisalone of Milan Design Week. On the thirty-ninth and top floor of the Palazzo della Regione Lombardia, a piece of Sicily overlooks the most beautiful belvedere in all of Milan. Yesterday afternoon, the Regional Councilor for Tourism of the Lombardy Region, Barbara Mazzalli, and the Regional Councilor for Tourism of the Sicilian Region, Elvira Amata, inaugurated the artistic installation “The Cities of Ceramics. Contemporary visions of Sicilian craftsmanship”, a project born from the great synergy that has characterized the excellent relations between the two departments in recent years and from the extraordinary collaboration with the six cities of Sicilian Ceramics: Burgio, Caltagirone, Collesano, Monreale, Sciacca, and Santo Stefano di Camastra which, for two years now, with the support of the Migi Press communication agency, have given life to the “Sicilian Ceramic Routes” project.
The installation, included in the “Milan Design Week – Fuorisalone 2025” program and designed by architect Laura Galvano, is developed as a “symbolic city” composed of abstract architectural volumes, such as parallelepipeds and cylinders, evoking contemporary urban buildings. These structures, covered with precious Sicilian majolica tiles, become exhibition surfaces for artistic ceramics, generating a three-dimensional narrative that combines traditional craftsmanship with innovative applications in contemporary design.
The project, born from the collaboration between the Department of Tourism, Sport and Entertainment of the Sicilian Region and the Department of Tourism, Territorial Marketing and Fashion of the Lombardy Region, represents a bridge between tradition and innovation, between craftsmanship and design, and between art and tourism. Through this proposal, Sicily presents itself at Milan Design Week 2025 as a territory rich in cultural identity and, at the same time, as a laboratory for innovation and creativity, capable of attracting and engaging an international audience.
“Through these extraordinary sculptures,” states Councilor Barbara Mazzalli, “we have the pleasure of bringing and sharing the colors of a region very dear to us, Sicily, at Fuorisalone 2025. These six municipalities, with their way of interpreting ceramics and their visions, represent the identity, tradition, art, creativity, and the love for craftsmanship that unites Sicily and Lombardy.”
The installation, included in the “Milan Design Week – Fuorisalone 2025” program
“I sincerely thank my colleague and friend Barbara Mazzalli for giving Sicily this great opportunity. Through our artistic ceramics, we bring the colors, landscapes, art, and Sicilian tradition to Fuorisalone 2025,” states Councilor Elvira Amata. “The Ceramic Routes project was born in Sicily; we appreciated it and presented it at BIT, where Councilor Mazzalli had the chance to get to know it. Being strongly impressed by the beauty of these sculptures, she wanted to pair them with the furniture industry, which is increasingly the reference market for our artisans. It is a unique opportunity to be seen and appreciated by the whole world in an international context like Milan Design Week.”
“A prestigious context that crowns the many efforts and sacrifices that the six cities of Sicilian ceramics have faced in recent months, seeking to socialize and make the experiential tourism project of the Ceramic Routes increasingly participatory. A project that brings together artisanal stories and the beauty of the territory, and promotes the scenic, monumental, and food and wine beauties of our cities,” state Francesco Re, Mayor of Santo Stefano di Camastra, and Claudio Lo Monaco, Councilor of Caltagirone, who were present yesterday at the inauguration ceremony of the artistic installation, which will remain open to the public free of charge on the 39th floor of Palazzo Lombardia from April 8 to 10, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. On April 11 from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM. On April 12 from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM and April 13 from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Lands in Hands program
To define them as souvenirs or furnishing elements would be an understatement; artistic ceramics are true icons of Sicilian identity, recognized and appreciated throughout the world. An extraordinary meeting point between art and craftsmanship, they are a synonym for the excellence of Sicilian cultural heritage. The production of artistic ceramics is present throughout almost the entire island, but it is an art that triumphs above all in the six cities of Sicilian ceramics: Burgio, Caltagirone, Collesano, Monreale, Santo Stefano di Camastra, and Sciacca, which together have given life to the Sicilian Ceramic Routes. A new way to experience tourism in Sicily, through paths made of nature, art, and culture, as an alternative to mass tourism destinations. An experience suitable for those who want to “immerse” themselves in the most intimate and profound identity of the Island, with unforgettable experiences inside the workshops of the ceramicists, who will share their ancient art with the visitor. Thanks to the passport, unique experiences can be enjoyed not only in the ceramicists’ workshops but also in other artisanal workshops and those of Sicilian pastry chefs and bakers who, thanks to their ovens, share with the ceramicists the skillful art of heat that gives shape and color to their delicious doughs.
PHOTO CAPTION: from the right, Laura Galvagno, architect for the Sicilian Region; Alessandro Amoroso, Councilor of Santo Stefano di Camastra; Barbara Mazzalli, Councilor for Tourism of the Lombardy Region; Francesco Re, Mayor of Santo Stefano di Camastra; Claudio Lo Monaco, Councilor for Culture of the Municipality of Caltagirone; Elvira Amata, Councilor for Tourism of the Sicilian Region.