Andrea Farci, a family of potters

The most suitable school for a young boy that follows a specific path of studies and wanted to start a certain career is certainly his family. If the teenager has the opportunity of having a father or a grandfather that works in the same field where he himself was specialized, it is important that he seizes the moment. Who more than a kin can have an interest for the future of a son or a grandchild? Who more than a kin knows the wishes, the sacrifices and the goals of that young?


Andrea Farci, a potter of Assemini, followed the feetsteps of his father, who in turn, previously, had begun working with his brothers, Gianfranco e Gaetano, into the pottery workshop of their father Vincenzo. The grandchild belongs to the third descent of the known family of potters in Assemini. Finished the studies in the Artistic High School in Cagliari, his grandfather’s workshop became his home. He attended the lessons issued by his predecessors and have always kept long-lasting the activity of his family.


His grandfather Vincenzo became to work in the field of pottery when he was very young. He learnt the tricks of the trade in the school of a known potter, come from Bosa, lived between the end of the 1800s and the first years of the 1900s. Later, he carried on in the workshop of another important teacher, come from Cagliari and lived until the end of the ‘90 of last century.


Among the techniques learnt by the child Vincenzo, there was that about the manufacturing and the realization of pottery products through the "mitten oven", thanks to which he could decorate the product "rashly", then subjected to another baking. In addition to the classic samples, such as pots and dishes, Vincenzo Farci learnt to create also the small horses present on the roofs of the houses, alike those present on numerous houses in Assemini and Serramanna.


These things have a value of superstition, because they can remove the jinx, common idea in the people’s traditions.

The children Giuseppe, Gianfranco and Gaetano developed the experience of the Farci Family, supporting a fame that was only locally, spreading it nationally and internationally. Among updates, experience and skills, the three boys were able to add other kinds of creations, such as that about the shingles with scales, put on the roofs of the houses.

The progress linked to the use of a new kind of oven, called "continuous oven with a tunnel", and of other important machines for the production of pottery artistic works, made the Farci Company more dynamic, guaranteeing perfect artistic realizations.


Andrea Farci followed the footstep of his father and of his uncles, working with Sardinian architects for the creation of things of common use, furniture accessories and paving. Most of the products are realized through the classic tools used by potters, such as lathe and mold. This is the daily procedure. But, since, everything operates according to the customers’ requests, it can happen that the Farci Family creates other kinds of samples, too, for instance floors that need a working path linked to the "porcelain grès", a technique of execution of tiles.


The tourist customers are very important, because, in the typically excursion and folk areas, you can note a greater influx and a consequent wish of seeing the realization of pottery products. You can read the catalogs where there is a proposal of various kinds of things, that includes a variety of depictions from the different color to the addition of a particular element that makes the difference. The creation ex novo of a simple product needs a time of twenty days. If the clay is well preserved, it can last for a long time.


The pupils that attend the training courses, too, can create from nothing and without a long experience, an artistic work. But, growing up among the colossus of craft is certainly a considerable advantage.