Knowing as we do that ceramics had always been produced in other Italian cities, and of course in other countries, we automatically ask ourselves how and why a Ceramics Cluster grew up specifically around Sassuolo, one of the most prestigious world leaders in the production of tiles, whose claim to fame is widely recognised.
In this survey we have sought to emphasize the often forgotten or glossed over historical, cultural and social conditions of the territory, and above all tried to “reveal” the human genius behind the creation of this Ceramics Cluster: Sassuolo, which had been the political, economic and administrative centre for many of these cities until the Unification of Italy, regained its ancient prestige and its claim to the title of “capital”: in the 1700s the Este family had chosen Sassuolo as the second capital of their Duchy because it was the major centre of production.
It has been said and written repeatedly that the people of Sassuolo have always been excellent imitators, but it is here that the true revolution in ceramic production came about. The greatest revolution, or as it has been called “the miracle within the miracle”, was the expansion of the mechanised aspect of production, that which today are automated controls and robotized automation. In short, it is still wrongly believed that during the first half of the 1900s this territory was basically without technical experts able to invent new machinery: what little was created, they claim, was only the result of “practicing” workers able “only” to transfer to the realm of ceramic production the technology used in other industrialised areas, adapted or modified to suit their needs. But even if this were true, it would still be a phenomenon to be studied and appreciated as an example of great creativity and resourcefulness. The truth is, things did not go exactly this way: from historical documents and direct testimony we learn that local businesses had their own qualified technicians and workers, not only, but there were factories (that is, industries) in the area which sold their cutting-edge products all over Italy and abroad and which served as a real training school for young apprentices. These factories and these technicians were, even in the early 1900s, able to modify, adapt and even create new machinery: the first concepts of automation for tile production were born in Sassuolo.
