Nove: Accommodation for Ceramic Culture and Local History

Culture and Ceramics in Nove

The Museo Civico della Ceramica opened in 1995 in the former building of the Regia Scuola d’Arte. In the section on 20th-century ceramics, you can see ceramics that received awards at the Salone Internazionale della Ceramica competitions in Vicenza from 1949 to 1975. A large vase by Pablo Picasso from 1950 is also particularly noteworthy.

The history of local ceramics dates back to the mid-17th century and began with the Manardi family. The Antonibon complex includes a 19th-century kiln. Another historic building from the 18th century served as the residence of Giovanni Maria Baccin and was Nove’s first school. Today, it is a library museum. This makes it possible to place different periods of the town’s history in context through specific buildings and objects.

Experiences for Planning Your Trip

The Museo Diffuso offers a free audio tour. Using your smartphone, you can walk through the streets and along the waterways of Nove. The tour combines movement through the town with its craft history and works well as an activity in its own right alongside a museum visit.

Those who would like to work with ceramics themselves can find beginner courses and special offers for more experienced participants at Nove+. In the group pottery-wheel course, you create a cylinder from red clay, which is finished with a white glaze. The workshops focus on specific topics in ceramic modelling or decoration, last two hours and are limited to a maximum of six participants.

Nove Terra di Ceramica also offers ceramic workshops. In addition, visitors can experience experimental wood firings in ceramics there. The Festa della Ceramica di Nove e Portoni Aperti will take place in Nove for its 29th edition from 11 to 13 September 2026. This date is therefore part of a specific travel plan and should not be understood as a year-round event offering.

Waterways and Materials as Part of the Townscape

Nove’s ceramic tradition is connected with sand, gravel and quartz from the Brenta River, as well as with red earth from the nearby hills. The waterways also explain part of the local production. The oldest channel in the urban layout originates from a waterway system already mentioned in 14th-century documents. It provided water power for mills and their machinery used to mix and process ceramic clay and glazes.

This connection between raw materials, water and craftsmanship gives the trip a clear focus. When choosing accommodation in Nove, you can therefore first decide whether you want to focus your stay mainly on the museum and local history, on hands-on ceramic experiences or on a combination of both. The individual offerings differ in content and format and, in the case of the Festa della Ceramica, also in their specific dates.

Compare Other Places

To compare pages for other places, you can also view Campese, Recoaro Terme, Marostica, Pove Del Grappa, Fara Vicentino, Campolongo Sul Brenta, Lusiana and Carré.

To the overview of the wider travel area: Vicenza.