Autumn bouquet

Country: Italy

Manufactory: Capodimonte

Date of establishment: 1960s

Size (cm): 32*44

Porcelain Story

For many people who have visited Naples at least once, this beautiful Italian city is associated either with football (well, who doesn’t know the famous Napoli club?!), or with the proximity of Vesuvius and the island of Capri, or with easily recognizable Neapolitan songs and dancing, and even with the legendary Neapolitan pizza. For me, Naples is first and foremost the birthplace of the first Italian porcelain.

The world-famous Capodimonte porcelain manufactory was founded by Charles III of the Bourbon dynasty, king of Naples and Sicily. Having ascended the Neapolitan throne in 1734, Charles moved to Naples the richest collection of art objects that belonged to his mother, Elizabeth, the last of the Farnese family. And soon, by order of the king, the beautiful Capodimonte Palace was built for this collection, where even now there is an amazing collection of works of art, in which a special place is given to Capodimonte porcelain. In the courtyard of this palace, the first experiments on the production of porcelain were carried out.

In the collection I have assembled, porcelain compositions by Neapolitan masters are mainly handmade flower bouquets - very complex in execution, but invariably arouse with difficulty restrained delight due to the natural vivacity of colors and the smallest details of each unique flower. One of these compositions, brought by me from Naples, I decided to present to your attention today. Moreover, there is a small reason for this. Today, the famous pizza festival begins in Naples, which, according to tradition, attracts not only lovers of this yummy, but also the most famous pizzaiolo - masters of pizzeria from all over the world.

Pizza has long been considered one of the symbols of Italy. And all Italians unconditionally recognize Naples as the birthplace of pizza, in which, according to experts, about 2 thousand (!) types of pizza are produced and most of them are considered the best in the world. By the way, for the first time the prototype of the future pizza appeared on the Apennine Peninsula around the 10th century. And for many centuries, a round cake, seasoned with garlic, onions, herbs and olives, served as food for the common people. Later, it was the Neapolitans who came up with the idea of  badding tomatoes, exotic at that time, brought from overseas, to the cakes.

In 1889, the King of Italy, Umberto I, came to Naples, who decided with his wife Margherita of Savoy to taste something simple, but original. And the best Neapolitan pizzaiolo prepared for them a traditional peasant dish - pizza, whose filling of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil symbolized the Italian tricolor flag. The royal couple were delighted with the treat. And she even left a letter of thanks in the city, conveying this delight. As a response gesture, of course, with the consent of the queen, the Neapolitans called their favorite dish "Margarita". It is believed that it is with him that the official history of Neapolitan pizza begins its countdown.

I will not describe here how the pizza festival usually takes place in Naples, passing - to the smell! - details of the preparation of the most popular dishes, from which the tables of local establishments are simply bursting. I can only say that the universally recognized queen of the festival, according to the already established tradition, of course, is Margherita pizza. Well, in order to complete our story on a cheerful note, I will recall one anecdote, as they say, in the subject. A regular visitor enters a popular Neapolitan pizzeria.

The waiter who recognized him, trying to guess the desire of the client, clarifies:

How would you like to cut the pizza - into four slices or into six?

After a moment's thought, the visitor confesses in a whisper:

“You won’t believe me, but I’m so hungry that let’s cut the pizza into eight pieces today!”