Complete biography

I was born in Poggibonsi (Siena) in 1965 and graduated from art school in 1985, in the Ceramics section of the “Duccio di Buoninsegna” Institute of Art in Siena. I attended the set design section of the “Accademia di Belle arti” [Academy of Fine Arts] in Florence in 1986-87 and this short but very intense period of study helped me realise that what I was really interested in was creating ceramics.

In 1987 I was offered an apprenticeship by the master craftsman Giuseppe Fontana, in Castellina in Chianti, and I spent a year working under him. In 1989 I opened my own workshop in Poggibonsi and in that same year I spent a month in Gijón (Spain), at the school of “Texture” ceramics, where I enriched my training and learned the technique of Raku. With this technique I experimented with rough and metallic surfaces on refractory mixtures. Often, thanks to memories of playful moments spent in my father’s mechanical workshop during my teens, I combine structures made of iron, steel and brass with ceramic elements.

I continued my research, attending the courses and seminars of important master craftsmen like Tim Andrews, Alvaro Baragli, Giovanni Cimatti and Stephen Roach. I’ve always loved nature and the wonderful Tuscan countryside. In 1992 I transferred my workshop to Castellina in Chianti.

I spent several years working there, mainly creating tableware with delicate under-glaze decoration, continuing with the evolution of my “Modular Landscape”, an idea conceived way back in 1983. At the same time, I continued experimenting with a wide variety of techniques and studying forms and shapes.

In 2002-2003 I taught professional design in the Ceramics section of the “Duccio di Buoninsegna” State Institute of Art in Siena. In May 2007, this same Institute awarded me the “Premio Duccio” prize as recognition for having transformed my passion for and studies carried out in the field of ceramics into a profession.

In 2008 I was invited to Japan for a personal show at the studio of the artist Takahiro Yoshino. Over the past two years, I have devoted increasing attention and creative space to porcelain and the use of high temperatures.

I live and work in Castellina in Chianti.