The Piattelletti of Fano: study of a missing paviment

This study examined the case of a Renaissance majolica paved floor, called the Piattelletti (literally ‘little plates’) floor, which was collocated in the Santa Maria del Riposo Church in Fano. The majolica pavement was made up of about 1,600 square tiles (15.3 X 15.3 cm each) with multi-coloured decorations (piattelletti). The tiles began disappearing before the church was demolished in 1942 and entered into the antique market circuit by the second half of the 19th century enriching both public and private collections in Italy and abroad. The chemical analysis of eleven fragments of the Piattelletti floor and three fragments from the Sforzesco Palace in Pesaro, has been compared to data found in documents relating to a Venetian floor similar to the Fano one, as well as to some majolica shards and pharmacy jars produced locally and to local raw clay material, in order to identify the manufacturing areas.