The Palermitan ceramic production from the ninth to the eleventh century

Abstract

Abstract This paper aims to show a general panorama of the Palermitan ceramic products circulating from the end of the ninth to the eleventh century. During this period Palermo was the capital of Islamic Sicily and covered an important role in the Mediterranean from a political, economic and cultural point of view. This has also impacted on pottery production. A new morphologic, technologic and decorative panorama is present during this phase, to face the new needs of a crescent population. Palermo developed a proper pottery language which is the result in part of the previous traditions and in part of the new contributions from the Islamic lands. The volume of Palermitan ceramic production increased considerably, not only to meet the metropolitan demand but also for the growing extra-urban (insular and extra-insular) requests.