The kiln - a fascinating environment, if somewhat dark, where earth, water and fire are masterfully combined to achieve valuable artistic objects. The craftsman in Impruneta work the clay following ancient traditions: a vase can be shaped in a cast, spreading and shaping the clay in a plaster mould. By the coil method, where clay is wound on in rounded strips; with this method, it is the craftsman that goes around the mould. Once the clay is compacted, the object is finished by adding edges and decorations
Numerous documentary sources prove that the production of terracotta-from the fifteenth century to the present day-has influenced the economy and life style of the Impruneta area, becoming a fundamental element to the formation of an original culture: the culture of terracotta.
Very few craftsmen are able to use the oldest and most difficult technique of "coil method": no moulds are used, just drawings with measurements and it takes several weeks to finish an object. At the right moment the objects are placed in the firing chamber of the kiln, one on top of the other, separated by refractory supports, using an ancient-old and special technique. Only after two days of firing is possible to remove the objects from the kiln and send them for selling.