Marcello Aversa

Ceramicist | Sorrento, Italy

Recommended by

Mariella Avino

A family affinity with clay

Marcello respects local traditions and customs
His biggest crib was 100 square metres
He mastered his techniques through practise

Introduced to clay by his father when he was a kid, Marcello Aversa started working very early in his family’s workshop, which has produced bricks for wood-burning ovens for many years. When he was a young man, he understood that the Neapolitan crib was his greatest passion and he wanted to keep alive this local tradition. So he travelled across the Sorrentine peninsula making cribs for churches and sanctuaries, at the beginning using nativity figurines made by others. But at a certain point, he retrieved his father’s savor-faire and he started modelling clay by himself to make very tiny figures (from 8 mm to 12 cm tall) and creating complex nativity scenes.

Interview

How would you define what you do?: I was given the gift of modelling clay without knowing any specific technique. Through my art work, I tell stories from the Old and New Testaments and I try to respect and “repay” this gift I was given. For me, making the crib is an act of faith that is done with the heart rather than with the hands.
Could your craft be considered in danger?: All art is in danger. And it’s not a money issue: the problem is that the new generations aren’t passionate about our art and local traditions. Young people usually choose customs and traditions that don’t belong to us.
What is a memorable moment in your professional life?: I met Pope Francis in 2015 at the Vatican during the last Synod of the Family: I stayed a few minutes with him. At that time, I showed him my artwork “Lux Familiae”, a big candle holder made with clay. He liked it very much.
What do you love most about your profession?: I’m deeply satisfied and content when I organise small workshops for children and I teach them how to model clay. The happy smiles of children make me think that not everything is lost.

Marcello Aversa is an expert artisan: he began his career in 1985