The Foundation
Vittoriano Bitossi

The Foundation
Vittoriano Bitossi

The Foundation was established
in 2008

by the Bitossi family and is dedicated to Vittoriano Bitossi (1923-2018), entrepreneur and generous promoter of cultural and philanthropic activities. It is a nonprofit organisation.

The Foundation’s main benefactor is Gruppo Colorobbia and its primary aim is to highlight and promote ceramic art culture and its historical and scientific research.

The Foundation has overseen the project, promoted by Cinzia Bitossi in 2000, for the creation and management of a permanent collection of ceramics manufactured by the company itself. The artifacts, tools and documents that have been collected, organised and classified form the
Bitossi Industrial Archives – AIB.

In 2011, the Bitossi Foundation joined Museimpresa, the Italian Association of Business Museums and Archives promoted by Assolombarda and Confindustria.

Its mission is closely connected to art ceramics, as evidence of the craftsmanship and know-how that created the Made in Italy brand and spread it throughout the world.

However, the archival activities are not limited to the retrieval, classification and preservation of its historical patrimony; it also offers assistance and consultancy to scholars, researchers and collectors. It supports cultural initiatives promoted by public and private international organisations and institutions, by taking part in exhibitions, conferences and publications that focus on the history of ceramics and ceramic design.

It communicates the vision and values that have always distinguished the identity and workmanship of Bitossi: interest in history and research, with particular focus on preserving and giving value to the history of Florentine manufactures.

The Vittoriano Bitossi Foundation is located in the historical headquarters that Guido Bitossi had built in 1929. The first floor houses the documents section of the Bitossi Industrial Archives, while the collection of ceramics has been museumised within the factory itself.

Industrial Archive: Ceramic collection

Industrial Archive: Ceramic collection

Industrial Archive: Document collection

Industrial Archive: Document collection

The material collected is
related to the history
of the family

and of work produced by Tito and Egidio Bitossi’s 19th-century kiln, by "Manifattura Cav. G. Bitossi & Figli" (1937-1976) and by "Manifattura ceramiche artistiche Flavia" (1976-2008), today known as Bitossi Ceramiche (2009). The ceramics and documents in the Bitossi Archives have been organised according to chronological and typological criteria. The retrieval and acquisition of ceramics and other materials has never been interrupted. The entire archive undergoes an ongoing classification and digitisation process. The collection is available for temporary exhibitions, according to specific terms set out in a loan agreement.

The Bitossi Industrial Archive has been declared of considerable historical interest by the Archival Superintendency for Tuscany

Collections

The Bitossi Industrial Archives, as a documentation centre, is formed by a number of archive sections and collections, among which some do not belong to the family business.

Ceramic collection

Ceramics, plaster models and casts, work tools

Papers and documentation

Drawings and projects - approx 3000 items

Miscellaneous materials: dusting stencils, fabrics, wallpaper etc.

Archive material: manuscripts, notes, workbooks, order sheets pertaining to client relations

Archive material: admin documents of the different Colorobbia Group companies.

Print and publishing: books, catalogues and press reviews.

Photographic material: historical photographs, colour photos and slides, catalogues and sales brochures relating to the manufacture of artistic ceramics; photos, catalogues and sales brochures relating to the activities and companies of Gruppo Colorobbia.

Other Collections

Manufacturer’s Collection: Colorificio Romer, Florence.

Manufacturer’s Collection: Fratelli Fanciullacci, Montelupo, Florence.

Manufacturer’s Collection: Italica Ars, Lastra a Signa, Florence.

Manufacturer’s Collection: Mancioli, Montelupo Fiorentino, Florence.

Museo Bitossi Archive

Museo Bitossi Archive

An extraordinary example
of musealisation of an
industrial archive.

In 2021, to mark the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the factory, the company archives, following a process of musealisation, were presented to the public in their new exhibition space covering more than 2,000 square metres in the company's historic headquarters in Montelupo Fiorentino. The ceramics return to the industrial space where they were designed and produced.

The narrative is contextualised in an environment that can generate multiple levels of interpretation. The protagonist of the exhibition is the entire historical archive - consisting of approximately 7000 ceramic works; a selection of plaster models and shapes; work tools; a rich collection of papers, drawings, projects, workbooks and other documents relating to the design and marketing, an open source of research available to professionals and the public.

The gallery of the production repertoire, organised according to chronology and typology, extends out, from the crowded and compact backstage, towards the visitor; it spreads between installation islands, and then expands into an intense game of cross-references between materials and illustrated information and material in the 'picture gallery'.

The Bitossi Archive museum is the result of a special synergy between museographics and curatorship, between exhibition design and specialisation entrusted to architects Luca Cipelletti for the layout, Alberto Pasetti Bombardella for the lighting, and to Porzia Bergamasco and Marina Vignozzi Paszkowski.

CCS - Centre of Ceramics
Experimentation

The Vittoriano Bitossi Foundation is leading the project "CCS - Centro Ceramico Sperimentale del saper fare e per l’innovazione tecnica", in partnership with the Comune di Montelupo Fiorentino and Colorobbia Italia Spa in context of a memorandum of understanding with the Regional Authority of Tuscany.

For info on courses and activities : www.centroceramicosperimentale.it

Visits

Opening times

Monday - Friday 10.30/12.30 14/17
Saturday by request

The visit is by appointment only. Reservation is mandatory

Book now
How to reach us

By train

Depart from: Firenze Santa Maria Novella

Arrive at: Montelupo-Capraia

Journey time: 29 minutes

Bus line 72: From Firenze Santa Maria Novella to the stop Montelupo-Capraia

Walk towards the Fondazione Vittoriano Bitossi passing through Via Giro delle Mura and Via Antonio Gramsci (7 minutes 550 mt.)

By air

Amerigo Vespucci Airport in Florence, Strada Grande Comunicazione (SGC) Firenze-Pisa-Livorno, 24 Km

Galileo Galilei Airport in Pisa, Strada Grande Comunicazione (SGC) Firenze-Pisa-Livorno, 58 Km

Parking

Free parking for visitors is accessible from Via Antonio Gramsci 75, Montelupo Fiorentino

Contacts

Fondazione Vittoriano Bitossi, via Antonio Gramsci 14, Montelupo Fiorentino 50056, Firenze

057151033 - visit@fondazionevittorianobitossi.it

Info and booking: 057151033 visit@fondazionevittorianobitossi.it

Email: info@fondazionevittorianobitossi.it