Sacred Art: The Jubilee Terracotta Collection

A very special year has just begun for Italy, a peculiar and meaningful time for the entire Catholic and Christian world.

The 24th of December was in fact the inauguration of the Holy Year:

On the evening of Christmas Eve, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica to mark the start of the Jubilee Year 2025.
This will be a time of meetings and events for all the faithful, who will come to Rome during this special period to take part in rituals and devotions typical of the Catholic tradition.

The theme of Jubilee 2025 is “Pilgrims of Hope”. This theme draws attention to the importance of pilgrimage as a metaphor for life’s journey: setting out to get to know ourselves and our surroundings.

For the duration of the Jubilee, 35 million pilgrims are expected to fill the capital, not only to participate in the religious events, but also to enjoy the great works of art that Rome has always guarded.

Sacred art has made Italy famous throughout the world over the centuries and, even today, the artistic and architectural heritage connected to the Church of Rome is a wealth of exceptional significance, regardless of religions and creeds.

The Italian artistic tradition is studded with great ecclesiastical patrons who, thanks to their aesthetic sense and communicative need, commissioned works that are of inestimable value to us today.

The most important painters and sculptors of all time have placed themselves at the disposal of the Church of Rome and lent their works to Catholicism: Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael are just a few of the great names that can be counted among the many that have made Rome and all of Italy great with their historical and artistic contributions.

For this great occasion, we took a trip through the historical archives of Poggi Ugo, searching for all the terracotta works related to sacred art: both reproductions of famous works of art and original articles inspired by the Catholic world.

All these items have been collected in the Jubilee Collection , which consists of statues, decorative and decorative panels).

Many objects make up the ‘Jubilee Collection’). Most of them are displayed on the façade of the old kiln (a building dating from around 1600).

The façade of the Antica Fornace Poggi Ugo – dating back to 1600 – is entirely decorated with terracotta panels, many of which are part of the Jubilee Collection.

Some of these are models of original works, such as the reproduction of the famous Tondo Pitti, a refined circular terracotta panel that is a masterpiece of the Renaissance artistic tradition. This tondo is a faithful copy of the original, sculpted in Carrara marble by Michelangelo Buonarroti and kept in the Bargello Museum in Florence. The original plaster mould, acquired from the Gipsoteca dell’Istituto d’Arte di Porta Romana in Florence, was used as the basis for this terracotta reproduction.   

The Tondo Pitti has really important dimensions: with a diameter of 85 cm, it is perfect to embellish a façade or to decorate a living room because, like any object in Impruneta terracotta, it can be used outdoors (it is resistant to weather and frost up to -30°C) or indoors.

On the left, the original Tondo Pitti, made by Michelangelo in 1564 for Bartolomeo Pitti and now in the Bargello Museum in Florence; on the right, the faithful reproduction in terracotta, handmade by the artisans of Poggi Ugo terrecotte.

Another splendid terracotta work that reproduces the original is the Annunciazione Robbiana a replica of the glazed polychrome terracotta lunette created by Andrea Della Robbia for the courtyard of the Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence. Handcrafted by the artisans of the Poggi Ugo kiln, the terracotta version is perfect for decorating a wall in the home – a room, an entrance hall, an exterior façade – and is a gift destined to be appreciated and cherished over time.

The panel depicting the Annunciation of Della Robbia, 80 cm wide and 43 cm high, is suitable for decorating the façade of a house, but also for decorating the wall of a room or a large dining room.

Another masterpiece to be included in the Jubilee Collection is undoubtedly the Madonna della Seggiola, a terracotta reproduction of Raphael’s famous painting from the early 1500s, kept in the Palatine Gallery of the Pitti Palace in Florence.   

Below you can see how the craftsmanship of this timeless work of art is carried out through the casting of plaster moulds. Our master Lorenzo, after dusting the mould with clay powder, begins to crush the earth on the plaster mould until it is completely filled.

When this phase is finished, he smoothes the back of the piece and applies the Fornace Poggi Ugo stamp. When the clay has had time to dry, Lorenzo takes the piece out of the mould and begins to finish it by hand, emphasising even the smallest details of the artefact.

The master craftsman as casts the Madonna della Seggiola

Each item in the terracotta “Jubilee Collection”  has a profound meaning, combining Catholic culture with a timeless artisan tradition.

The reproductions of sacred images in terracotta from Impruneta are more than mere decoration:

They are the testimony of an important tradition, shaped by skilful hands using the ancient techniques of working Impruneta clay.

Each detail is the result of care and attention, each object tells a story that takes us back to the roots of our culture.

These objects – statues, wall panels, busts – in terracotta can be precious gifts to celebrate the most important moments in life: birth, baptism, communion, marriage.

They are decorative additions that can be placed in different places in the home, as wall decorations, both inside and outside the house, in the garden, but also in corners of the house that we not only want to beautify, but also to fill with a special symbolic meaning.

Discover all the articles that make up the special ‘Jubilee Collection’ dedicated to the Holy Year 2025.