La Rambla and its pottery
The yellowish clay of La Rambla has marked the very old pottery and ceramist tradition that identifies the city. Initially focused on functional pieces like jugs and pitchers, such as the famous La Rambla botijo, today they make pieces with a purely artistic vocation on their wooden lathes.
The traditional products of La Rambla are characteristic due to their white colour and porous clay with a high capacity to keep the liquid they hold cool. Hence the name, botijo rambleño. The power of this craft is extraordinary, with La Rambla having 56 factories in 1988, 75 in 1992 and more than a hundred in 1999.
For centuries, Rambleña pottery has been characterised by its huge variety: traditional pottery, all imaginable garden accessories, bathroom utensils, kitchenware, lighting elements, construction accessories, tiles, objects reminiscent of the Caliphate or Andalusians, Moroccan fretwork, new avant-garde and design styles... and with multiple styles in the decorations.
The finding of some Bell Beakers that date back more than 4,000 years in the prehistoric village where La Rambla was conceived, is sufficient proof of its long pottery tradition. The consolidation of this trade occurs in Andalusian times and its greatest development was unleashed after the Castilian conquest.
The splendour of La Rambla in medieval times can be seen in the castle tower, where the La Rambla Ceramics Museum is located, which shows the history and close connection of the town with the art of modeling clay. It is also the oldest monographic exhibition of pottery and ceramics in Spain.
Every year since 1926, ENBARRO, the Pottery and Ceramics exhibition of La Rambla, has been held. It includes a contest that rewards the best samples of traditional pottery, ceramics, decoration and new shapes.
