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Town of Deruta
 The town of Deruta : The Municipal Paintings Gallery is in the old part of Deruta in Piazza dei Consoli 13, on the two floors of the left wing of the Town Hall. It was constituted in the first decade of the twentieth century when two important works of art from Churches in Deruta became State property: the "Madonna of the Consuls" and a "Professional Gonfalon", both fifteenth-century, by Nicolo di Liberatore alias l'Alunno. Following large scale restructuring of the building where the Paintings Gallery is now located, it was opened to the public on 2 June 1975. At the same time, an important work of art was acquired: a fifteenth-century fresco by Perugino, "Eternal Father, Saint Rocco and Saint Roman, from the Church of Saint Francis in Deruta. With the opening of the Regional Ceramics Museum the works could be arranged differently and more appropriately in terms of conservation and exhibition. The Paintings Gallery has a collection of important works of art from various places. To the nucleus of paintings from various churches in the municipality and from the former Hospital of St. James, the collection of approximately 52 works of art forming the "Lione Pascoli" Collection was added. In the reception hall there are frescos by late fifteenth and early sixteenth-century artists, all taken from churches on the municipal territory. In the three halls on the first floor, the most important works of art from Churches in Deruta are exhibited: - "The Madonna of the Consuls", fifteenth-century, by Nicolo di Liberatore alias l'Alunno; - "Professional Gonfalon", fifteenth-century, by Nicolo di Liberatore alias l'Alunno; - fresco of "Eternal Father, Saint Roman and Saint Rocco", fifteenth-century, by Pietro Perugino; - Franciscan Mass Book from the late XIII° century. On the second floor the "Lione Pascoli" Collection can be seen. He was an eminent writer and art collector in the eighteenth century, and his collection was donated to the Paintings Gallery in Deruta by testamentary provision in 1931 by his heir Consilia Pascoli. The Collection consists of approximately 52 paintings by Italian and foreign artists from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: Antonio Amorosi, Maco Benfial, Luigi Garzi, Giovan Battista Gaulli alias il Baciccio, Francesco Trevisani, Pietre Van Bloomen, Guido Reni, Francesco Graziani, Sebastiano Conca, Giovanni Paolo Panini, Placido Costanzi, Cristoforo Gaspery and Perugian painters from the mid-eighteenth century. The Paintings Gallery is closed throughout 2004 for restructuring work being carried out on the Town Hall.
Deruta Museum of Ceramics
Regional Ceramics Museum
in Deruta The Regional Ceramics Museum is located in the fourteenth century former Convent of Saint Francis in the old town of Deruta (Largo S.Francesco) that was specially restructured and opened to the public in April 1998. The exhibition and deposit area cover 1700 square m in all. There are 14 exhibition hall on three floors as well as the huge space for the depository. On the ground floor there are three open halls for temporary exhibitions so that visitors can get a glimpse of the Museum's set-up and decide whether to buy an entrance ticket. From this area one can access the library specialized in history of ceramics, with over 1400 volumes. Beyond the reception desk the itinerary begins with a hall devoted to ceramic techniques. This history of ceramics from Deruta can be viewed in the last hall on the ground floor. The rest of the exhibition is upstairs and covers the evolution of majolica from Deruta until the early twentieth century. The Renaissance is exalted with polished display plates bearing the coats of arms of nobility or portraits of beautiful Renaissance women, as well as many other objects both from the Renaissance and the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. There are some thematic areas too. Such as the flooring section, the votive plate section, and a reconstructions of an old pharmacy. Special attention is given to collectors'
items on the second floor, where the "Magnini Collection" can also be admired. The early-century showcases blend harmoniously with the extraordinary vaulted ceiling. The sections of ceramics, and not only From Deruta, attest both to the phenomenon of local collections in the early century and to the clever acquisition policy followed since the 80s. A four-floor metallic tower is reserved as a deposit, and can also be visited. The large quantity of objects that are worth viewing is set up as an exhibition-deposit, in a great space full of shelves were - just like in a library or archive - one can look at things in general or go along the shelves, stopping to take notes and work on one's
own research. There are work spaces available or
researchers. In all, the Museum has over 7,000
works of art.
Craft in Deruta
 Crafts: Crafts in Deruta are represented by the production of artistic majolica. The oldest document on this type of art is dated 12 August 1290, and attests to payment "in natura" with "unam souman vasorum". This was the archaic period when daily-use objects were made: jugs, bowls and dishes with geometrical and zoomorphic decorations. The predominant colours used were copper green and manganese brown. In the following centuries majolica from Deruta reached its apex of splendor, spreading in the course of the sixteenth century to the main cities, and not only Italian ones. Artists such as Giacomo Mancini (EL FRATE) and Francesco Urbini signed works of art of great value. There is a whole repertory of designs with female figures, mythological scenes, battles and sacred images, decorated in many different ways. Meanwhile the colour palette was enriched with orange, blue and yellow. The technique of polishing appeared too, with splendid golden tones on the most valuable works. Floors, such as the one of the Church of Saint Francis in Deruta, dating from 1524 and the one of St. Mary the Greater in in Spello in Perugia are more examples of the best creations of majolica from Deruta. Later, style and decoration evolved to the calligraphic, Moorish style, with intertwined leaves, flowers, arabesques, birds and other animals. In the XVIII0 century production went through a crisis, yet Gregorio Caselli opened a factory in Deruta that produced porcelain-imitations in majolica. Following the unity of Italy, production started up again, thanks to the work of Angelo Micheletti, Alpinolo Magnini, David Zipirovic and Ubaldo Grazia. Today, the high level of artistic work produced can be seen by visiting the "living Museum" winding through the streets of Deruta and consisting of workshop, exhibition halls, laboratories and factories where one can observe the various production stages. .
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