Ceramiche Artistiche Angelo Minghetti Biography
The "Minghetti" factory for the production of artistic ceramics was founded by Angelo Minghetti (1822-1885) in 1858 in a tiny kiln for crockery in Montagnola, near Bologna. In 1869 Angelo Minghetti presented some of his works at the Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition of Bologna and the following year he participated in the Rome Art Exhibition. In 1873 he was present at the World Exhibition in Vienna. A few years later Angelo Minghetti was invited by a pottery manufacturer from Imola, Angelo Bucci, to move into the larger and better equipped kiln he owned. In 1877, after leaving Imola, Minghetti returned to Bologna and opened a shop in Porta San Vitale. In the same year the factory was present, with some pieces, at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Naples and the following year at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. In 1880 the factory participated in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in Turin, in 1881 in that of Milan and in 1883 in that of Rome. In 1885 Angelo Minghetti died, the management of the factory passed to his sons Gennaro and Arturo, and the factory participated in the Italian Exhibition in London in 1888; in 1898 at the Exhibition of Sacred Art in Turin; in 1899 at the Bologna Architecture Exhibition; in 1900 at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. In 1902 the factory participated in the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Art in Turin and in 1904 in the World Exhibition of Saint Louis and the Italian Exhibition in London. From 1906 to 1916, the management of the factory was assumed by Gennaro's son, Aurelio, under whose leadership the factory increased the number of employees, production reached its maximum increase and the number of works sent to foreign markets increased. In 1908 the factory took the name of "Ceramiche Artistiche Angelo Minghetti & Figli". In these same years the young Guglielmo Sansoni, known as Tato, trained as a ceramist at the factory, and among the collaborators of the first decades of the century we also remember Alcino Cesari, Arturo Colombarini, Alfonso Matteuzzi, Luigi Santi and, occasionally, the sculptor Cleto Tomba. Between 1917 and 1918 Aurelio Minghetti transformed the factory from a limited partnership into a cooperative, inviting all the workers, both artists and workers, to participate and from 1920 the company took the name of "Società Anonima Cooperativa Ceramiche Artistiche Minghetti". In 1926 the ownership of the factory passed into the hands of Aurelio's brothers, Angelo, Margherita, Itala and their cousins Laura and Eleonora. Since 1930 no one from the family appears among the owners of the company but some of the founders' heirs continue to work there. In these years the company was managed by Alfonso Matteuzzi who retired in 1940, replaced by Alcino Cesari, who remained in office until 1962. After the Second World War, production modernized, often achieving high-level results. In the 1950s the factory was located in via della Rampa 4 in Bologna. The company remained active until 1967.
