All Roads Lead to Rome
Today, architects, designers, and homeowners are quite familiar with popular surface options from stone to ceramic tile to porcelain. However, in the scope of human history, these are all still relatively new innovations – innovations that were perfected by Italian artisans.
Curiously, Italians didn’t actually invent stone, ceramic tile, or porcelain. But certainly, no other people have done so much to advance surface technology and design to where it exists today for the benefit of modern audiences. When you trace the history of surfaces, all roads eventually lead to Rome.
The Ceramic Revolution
At its height, the Roman Empire spanned 2.3 million square miles, from western Europe to the Middle East. Ceramic technology drawn from all over the known world made its way to Rome, where craftsmen, artisans, and scientists put it to use in fresh and innovative ways.
While ceramic brick had already established itself as a reliable building material, Roman architects and craftsmen took it to the next level, creating and perfecting roofing techniques using ceramic tiles – methods still in use today.
Roman engineers also explored ceramic technology, developing surprisingly advanced indoor heating systems that relied upon ceramic materials for heat retention and ductwork.
But it is the ancient Roman artisans to whom modern designers owe the most. They popularized the use of ceramic tile as an artistic and decorative medium. Roman mosaics found stunningly preserved in the ruins of Pompeii show not only how extensively Romans used ceramic tile in both artistry and architecture, but also how this widespread use had extended throughout the region now known as Italy.
A Lasting Influence
A Lasting InfluenceEven as the Roman Empire waned and fell, its influence on interior design and architecture would continue as a lasting legacy that remains to this day.
Marble, a valuable natural resource found in the mountains of northern Italy, had been revered by ancient Greek and Roman builders and artists alike. White Carrara and Calacatta marbles were prized for their remarkable beauty, and used in important structures and statuary for centuries before and after the fall of Rome.
Romans, and later, Italians advanced the art of quarrying and building with fine marbles, and to this day, slabs of white Calacatta marble remain among the most prized natural stone surfaces for premium luxury design.
But it was another white surface, discovered in the Far East, that would have an even more pronounced impact on the surfaces of today.
The Discovery of Porcelain
When Marco Polo journeyed the Silk Road to what is now China, he brought many wonders back with him to Italy, including the concept of paper money, pasta, and a mysterious substance he termed “porcellana,” the Italian term for the cowrie shells its hard white surface resembled.
Porcelain, as it would come to be known, had been crafted in the Far East for centuries, but it was a revelation for medieval Europeans, who prized it more than gold. It helped prompt Europeans to seek out new trade routes to the Far East, ultimately leading to the discovery of the New World in 1492.
Meanwhile, European artisans would spend the next few centuries trying unsuccessfully to replicate porcelain for the European market. However, it was not until the height of the Renaissance in the 16th Century that artisans in Florence were finally able to do so.
The Renaissance was a high-water mark for Italian art and design, yet, even as its influence ebbed Italy’s reputation and experience with stone, ceramic, and porcelain surfaces remained.
As the world changed swiftly throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, Italian design continued to set the pace for the rest of the world, exerting the same innovative influence on the modern world as it had upon the ancient world.
Today, premium Italian porcelain is prized alongside natural stone surfaces, and new innovations, such as Adorare, are still setting the pace for the design world.
