113 Opposite page, from left: the Museum of Ceramics in MondovĂŹ; one of the exhibition rooms in Palazzo Fauzone di Germagnano; a hall in the Museum of Ceramics in Savona dedicated to classic styles and works by artist Giacomo Boselli; vase in glazed terracotta decorated in Art Deco style (Torido Mazzotti, c. 1926).
logical heritage of Piedmont, the Savings Banks Foundations of Cuneo and Turin, and the Compagnia di San Paolo of Turin. The Museum of Ceramics was the vision of Marco Levi (1910-2001), the last owner of the historic Vedova Besio e Figlio ceramic works, which in turn was also the last surviving ceramic factory in the district of MondovĂŹ before it closed down in the early 1980s. Inaugurated by Guido Neppi Modona, then president of the Fondazione del Museo, and Christiana Fissore, the director, the museum hosts nearly two centuries of typical everyday tableware that was produced in the local manufactories. The visitor experience is enhanced in multimedia display rooms that strengthen the educational vocation of the institution, which is not intended only as a history museum but also as a concrete demonstration of the generative power of culture. The manufactory and museum merge in the fully functional ceramics workshop, where all phases of the production cycle are performed: a centre for experimentation and exchange between contemporary artists and designers, to support and promote the renovation and relaunch of local production (museoceramicamondovi.it). These cultural institutions are two fully-fledged cultural hubs, distinguished for their venues of historical prestige, their relevance to the local heritage and the modernity of their displays. The concept, planning and organisation of coordinated initiatives, integrating museums, schools and the traditional local ceramic craft into an organic system, constitute a high road around the vagaries of globalisation, an intelligent path to certain fundamentally wise principles of civilisation.
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