Located in the hills nearby to Florence, the small town of Impruneta has been for centuries a remarkable centre of creation, renowned for the artistic production of Terracotta: a material so iconic and representative of the Tuscan landscapes that most of the Florentine cupolas, including the Brunelleschi one, are covered with it. Terracotta can be used to create vases or to shape sculptures, as showcased by the masterpieces of Renaissance sculptor Luca della Robbia.
The company Poggi Ugo, run today by the descendants of the eponymous founder, is one of the few manufacturers able to master all the delicate steps of production – clay molding, drying, kiln raising, cooking, cooling – of this antique, fascinating, extremely resistant material, and it is a reference point at international level for terracottas. Each item created by their artisans requires a minimum of 25-30 working days, up to 100-120 days for the largest, and their skills and capabilities allow them to reproduce classical and contemporary designs or create new shapes upon customers' requests.