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Piazzetta’s sixty-year history is marked by numerous milestones that have contributed to the brand’s growth. One of these came about in 1982 with the introduction of majolica cladding in our fireboxes, stoves, and fireplaces.
Ceramic tiles already existed in the firebox market, but they were characterised by small square tiles measuring 30 cm per side. The one-piece fireboxes were covered by a grid of tiles: a practical solution, but far removed from the concepts of elegance and design that the company was beginning to internalise. The aesthetic concept the company wanted to introduce to the market was that of large majolica pieces, but the skills required to do so were lacking.
Initial collaborations with various ceramic producers yielded poor results. It was therefore decided to create a small in-house ceramics department, hiring trained, genuinely expert workers in this field. The beginnings were not easy: it was difficult to find the right mixture and the ceramic tended to crack far too easily. But the company was driven by a clear objective: to make the best and most innovative product on the market. Motivated by this purpose, the search continued and with it, the result.
Piazzetta stoves and fireplaces came to be elegant, pleasant and cosy items of furniture. Months of research and trial and error produced an infallible recipe still handed down to this day, for the production of majestic majolica cladding.
Our majolica is a compound derived from a series of carefully measured and combined clays and sands. Among these ingredients, the four main ones are kaolin, talc, quartz, and chamotte. These elements have a precise chemical composition that always varies, since they are not always derived from the same sites. While this feature is manageable today thanks to computerised tools, at the beginning of our ceramics journey it was a difficulty that could only be overcome by the knowledge and experience of our craftsmen, who were able to recognise the different types of clay merely by touching them.
All the components are mixed with water and a thinning agent until reaching a specific consistency, a formula handed down from Piazzetta’s first ceramists to those of today. After three days of rest, the mixture is injected into the pack moulds or poured into the bench moulds, depending on the part being made. The time it takes for the compound to harden depends on the mould and ambient conditions, ranging from a minimum of two hours to a maximum of twelve.
The piece is then demoulded and finished by hand: a delicate operation since the solidified material is still very soft and the chances of it being ruined and compromised are very high. This is precisely why we praise the work of our craftsmen, without whom it would not be possible to present unique products such as our majolica-clad stoves.
After finishing, drying takes place: a very precise process over a total of 22 hours in 3 steps, each at different temperatures to achieve specific objectives. Drying is followed by firing, which takes place in a 4-hour cycle on a roller kiln, an industrial investment replacing the earlier traditional kilns that required 31 hours of firing from heating to cooling.
The fired pieces are then subjected to grinding, edge finishing and surface sanding: three manual operations that once again highlight the qualities of our craftsmen. The pieces are then enamelled and re-fired to allow the enamel to melt and stick to the ceramic piece. Each enamel has its own melting temperature, underscoring the incredible work of our craftsmen in being able to offer over 40 shades for customised coverings.
These parts are then checked for conformity with the applicable quality standards, then either clamped and packed or repassed. The pieces are decorated using an enamel similar to the one already used, but which is fired at a lower temperature, applied by brush to the surface of the enamel: a true work of art completed after a 15-day process, making each piece unique and your stove a design object without equal.
Majolica cladding is the result of a process requiring a great deal of craftsmanship. While on one hand this characteristic adds value to each individual piece, on the other hand it can also give rise to imperfections. For each defect, there is a tolerance range that assesses the conformity of the pieces, but none of the products are discarded a priori. Each piece in fact presents artistic flaws typical of this type of ceramic, which, in their own way, contribute to the uniqueness of each individual product. Small-sized cracks, splinters, sink marks, bumps and grains are part of the craftsmanship of our cladding, peculiarities that testify to the manual and traditional work enhancing the value of our majolica cladding.
Majolica cladding can be found on many of our products. You can find it on the pellet, wood-burning and hybrid stoves, as well as the original “stubotti” stoves and fireplaces. In pellet stoves, majolica is the lone protagonist of the claddings in the Prestige line, while in the other lines (Premium Plus, Premium and Trend), we can find it in combination with steel claddings.
The fireplace claddings are distinguished in particular by their elegant decorations: the Basic, Elegance, Luxury and Le Terre lines stand out for their increasingly refined coverings, achieving the status of true works of art, framing the flame like a feature painting.
Each stove has its own shape, curved and square profiles, either smooth or with bas-relief engravings, right up to the domes of the “stubotti” stoves and large panels of several hybrid models.
Over 40 shades of majolica, a selection of colours proposed for every product, but without excluding the possibility for customisation. From light shades of white, in even meringue, antique, lime and grey nuances, to the exciting red, lava red and burgundy. Elegant proposals such as matt black, slate and mocha, and contemporary, stylish proposals such as sea-green blue, anise and bright yellow.
Craftsmanship, modern appeal: majolica cladding to enhance the stoves and the rooms where they’re installed, a refined design solution to embellish the home environment.