description

Only 18km from Alicante, capital of the province, Agost is located, a village in the region of l'Alacantí, where many of its customs and traditions remain in force, as well as new proposals that feed the cultural life of its citizens.

Several family sagas were dedicated to the famous local white clay to elaborate, among other pieces, their popular “botijos”, so around the 80s, when the museum was created, the town had almost thirty pottery workshops, but nowadays,  there are left a small number of workshops that can be visited, which together with the museum, are those that, today, maintain the value and continuity of this ancestral craft and the pottery culture, which for more than a century, was the main economic activity of Agost.

The profits offered by ceramics are multiple, both in the food and decorative sector, so Agost, as the epicenter of artisan pottery production in the province of Alicante, implements this experience to demonstrate the various uses of ceramics and the sustainability of ceramics. With this experience we will know the traditional craft of pottery and how these pieces were made using the raw materials of the environment.

This is a route through the historic quarter with a guided tour through the most emblematic streets of Agost, where the first pottery workshops were installed; including a visit to the Pottery Museum. The historic center is formed by narrow and picturesque streets, which flow forming a circle to the slopes of the hill of the castle. The wider streets opened in the middle of the 20th century, configure the rest of the urban area and concentrate much of the local trade.

fotos

itinerary

We will start the route at  Plaza la Peona, whose name comes from the clay sculpture made by the ceramists Roque Martínez and Carmen de la Fuente from the work of Arcadi Blasco, in tribute to women (the “peones”) which contributed to the development of local pottery,  where the Museum is located. We will visit with a guide the Pottery Museum, which aims to study, preserve and disseminate the local cultural heritage, especially that linked to pottery and pre-industrial society. The Pottery Museum is housed in a former ceramics factory that closed its doors in 1975 and itwas founded thanks to the work and effort of Ilse Schütz, and is the ideal place to know everything that encloses the art of making objects of cooked clay.

Throughout its rooms we will be able to discover its extensive collection of pieces, and we will pass through important places in pottery such as the "Arab oven", the area of potter’s lathes or the ponds of clay decantation.

After this visit we will make the guided tour of Agost through the Pottery Route, which will allows us to walk through its streets passing places where this art has left its mark. A curiosity of this route comes in the beautiful plates of the streets, made with clay and beautiful tones. On this route we will see the Fountain of the Square, built in 1786 and meeting point of the residents of the village, and where some of the most important festivals of Agost are celebrated, such as “Les Danses del Rei Moro” or the “Arranc de festa de Moros y Cristianos”. Along the route we will pass, among other places, the Font de l'Abeurador (the oldest in Agost and whose most important role was to supply the laundry and the first potteries of the municipality) or the street Ventós, where we will discover the brands that firewood, carried in the wagons on the way to the pottery kilns, it was leaving on its walls, or even the signs that the workers made at the entrance to their factories, to count the number of parts that were loaded into the wagons. We will end up visiting a local craft shop: Xiulet Artesanía.

 Then we will have a traditional lunch with local products:

 -  Coca with tomato, aioli and ham and cheese
-  "L'Arc Day Empanaetes"
-  " d'Agost coquetes (salty panckakes)

In addition to:

-  Typical sweets of Agost
-  Agost D.O. grapes Bagged table grapes from the Vinalopó (according to season)
-  Mistela from the Chaconero winery
-  Water and soft drinks included 

Last but not least, we will visit the workshop of a master potter, artisan of traditional ceramics, who will teach us to make one of these pieces by performing a handling mud and potter´s Wheel workshop.

features

departure time

10:00:00

duration

5 hours

dinner*

"L'Arc Day Empanaetes" - " d'Agost coquetes (salty panckakes)

accessibility

si

cata

No

pets

no

own car*

si

difficulty

fàcil

Languages

Valenciano y castellano

Free cancellation if is notified 48 before the realization of the experience. Pre-booking: 100% is requested in advance for booking confirmation, which will be returned in case of cancellation provided that this is within 48 hours before the realization of the experience.

more information

Agost
601 501 699
agost@essencies.net