We're up early this morning to catch the tour bus to Patti on the northeast shore of Sicily to tour the factory and shop the outlet store of Caleca Ceramics.
The drive to Patti was about 2.5 hours. We just settled in to our seats and enjoyed the scenery - Mt. Etna to the left and the Ionian Sea to the right. The skies were sunny when we left, but by the time we reached Messina the rain had started. Regardless, we still enjoyed the ride and scenery.
Caleca Ceramics is a 250 year old company that hand makes fine pottery from start to finish. No doubt the sole purpose of the trip is for participants to shop. There was no formal tour set up. But the six of us on the tour asked the bus driver to inquire about touring the factory. We were in luck! The tour was guided by a lady who spoke english....guess one would if he/she grew up in Milwaukee. Yeah, the tour guide, or office manager, grew up in Milwaukee and married a Sicilian. He didn't like the weather in Milwaukee (who does) so the family moved back to Sicily. It's a small world.
Like I said, the pottery is manufactured from clay to shipping in this spot. The clay is custom mixed from pulverized rock. Then the pieces are stamped and fired into greenware. All the pieces are hand painted by employees from the area...most are 2nd generation employees of the company. The pieces are then glazed and shipped to the customers. At a minimum the process takes 2 weeks. Caleca make a specific line for Williams Sonoma (check out my pics). Unfortunately they don't ship to the US because it is cost prohibitive. But they will ship in EU. Dang, I should have sent some to Deb in Amsterdam!
We got back to our place around 3 pm. Just in time to get a bit organized and siesta. Our time in Sicily is coming to an end and I've gotta pack.
Juan may be working a bit late tonight. But when he gets home I'm sure we'll head out to the Spaghetti House in Motta.
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