Inspiration from the Ancient Romans

“Do what you love, and you will find the way to get it out to the world.” was a quote said by Judy Collins, a famous American singer and songwriter. This is proven to be timeless and true across different professionals, cultures and genders. Whether you love to shape the future through innovative technologies like Steve Jobs or change the fate of the disadvantaged one child at a time like Mother Teresa; if you do what you love consistently over a period of time, people will see it and recognise it.

If you’ve ever played a game of word association and mention the word ‘Italy’, you may get responses like… Pizza. Pasta. Maserati. Rome. Pope. Mafia. Leaning Tower of Pisa. Giovanni Palestrina. The list is endless and varies depending on a person’s personal background and experience. Our response to the word, Italy, may be different but the Italian culture is generally renowned for:

• their love and taste in arts,
• strong family bonds,
• amazing historic architecture,
• classical music, and
• food that have integrated with most of our everyday lives such as pizzas and pastas.

Things of renown are great examples of people’s dedication to excellence in that area. Such dedication is respected by not only the creators but others who benefit and inspired by them.

Italians’ dedication to producing beautiful artwork comes in many different forms, shapes and sizes. If you google “Italian artwork”, you will find millions of results; most of which relate to paintings, portraits, ceramics, sculptures and terracotta in an ancient or contemporary context.

To understand why Italian ceramics (tiles) are so highly regarded today, one must explore and dig deeper into Italy’s history; their roots in creating ceramics. Ceramics were manufactured in large quantities and used throughout the the Roman Empire. Ceramic products were mostly made for practical daily uses but they were also made into art pieces and potteries. Ceramics in the form of baked/fired clay were also used for building purposes such as bricks and tiles. Over the years, traditions for making ceramic tiles were passed down and refined. Although the Roman Empire is now part of history, their spirit in quality ceramic creation has not only been retained but rather it is fuelled by modern day Italians’ passion for producing world class ceramic tiles.

Did you know that eighty percent of all Italian ceramic tiles are produced in Sassuolo? Sassuolo is currently the central business district (CBD) of the Italian tile industry and arguably one of the most significant production centres for the global tile market. There are more than 300 ceramic factories operating in the Sassuolo district, not to mention the countless other factories in the neighbour districts.

“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” was a quote by Marc Anthony. This statement rings true not only in OzTop’s culture but it is an important factor when it comes to making our business decision in which manufacturer to partner with. We only align ourselves and work with tile manufacturers who are passionate about their work such as Opera Group and La Fenice.

Come visit our website regularly to see new product releases and the latest discounted items for your next project.