Due to being closely linked to the evolution of our civilization, cotto is a material that manages to maintainan ongoing rapport with the architectural solutions of every age. Cotto, which can also be defined as absolute simplicity, clay, water and fire, thusbecomes an archetype and a fixed reference point for building and roofing. Early Etruscan and buildings roman handmade articles, followed by renaissance and contemporary objects, all testify to the fact that cotto lasts a lifetime and is always popular. Moreover, cotto possesses virtue only shared with a few good wines: it improves with age. Its colour, surface and tonality are enhanced over the years, making it an indissoluble element for creating a homogeneous, harmonic, and pleasant-to-live-inatmosphere in the home.

The company was founded in 1961 and did a significant contribution to the reconstruction of Italy after the war. It’ a factory that produces everything that can be useful for a brick house. Over the years, the company has specialized in terracotta floors and Romana cover. Il Cotto in various types respectful of tradition. The Romana cover is available in various colors and can therefore meet the request of ancient villages. Today, at the turn of the century, with improved machinery the company is aiming on new challenge, the respect for the environment. The characteristics of this company are: natural raw materials, reduced emissions and strict quality control. It is a journey always aimed at excellence.

Research and commitment combined with new machines and new technologies have thus produced an esthetic of considerable thickness, never separated by a constant search for quality that is subject to very rigorous standard.

In this context the company has implemented the ISO 9001 qualification.

This is the most highly prized cotto with its uneven aspect and rustic surfaces, characterized by that typical warm, earthy colour found in the palazzos and piazzas of Tuscany.

A particular and unmistakable tonality thas has become the trademark of a special moment in the history of architecture, that splendid and unrepeatable Tuscan Renaissance. Thanks to grinding before firing, a brick surface is obtained that highlights the mixure of strong earths, in other words the cotto “grain”.

The being laid bottom for interior has as most important feature the perfect planarity. The cotto tiles must be put down with care on the untilled rocky land by hidraulic lime or by grounting lime at pozzuolana setting, and in the case that the thicknesses don’t allow these two thecniques, it’s necessary to use a proper glue. In the case of external flooring, the floor foundation needs of greater care: it must have a good draining (fig. 16/17) to avoid stores of dampness and a gradient of 1% or more then it.

When the out is bread, the flooring is finished and it’s necessary to take away the grout more them enough, before that it’s dried and it’s necessary to wash with water and acid. It’s advisable to expect, at the externat, the expansion joints every 4/5 metres of cotto. Pratigliolmi refuses all responsibilities for the external floorings which are treated with waterproofers, repellents, or others. You can find futher details about washing and about maintenance of cotto flooring in this publication at chapter “Treating Cotto”.

Pratigliolmi is proposing a roof tile and a bent tile produced with the drawing machine. Beauty, duration, frost-proofing, insulating properties and ease of laying: it is rare to find theses features all together in roofing today. As is known, the Romana Copertura is laid without either grouting or cement. In fact, its stability is guaranteed by the weight of each single tile and the way in which the roofing interconnects.

One thing is certain, the roof represents the most important element of a house and still today the Romana roofing is the most valid and safest answer, offering great aesthetic value as well. Pratigliolmi produces three types: the famous classical Florentine red, a clashing pink, and an antiqued type which is extremely beautiful.

Today a new addition is joining the flanks of this traditional production: the Giubileo tile and bent tile - the first real novelty in this sector in over two thousand years. A drawn tile and a bent tile, which lock into place, interconnecting one to the other. No more sliding bent tiles, birds moving the tiles, or nests underneath. On one hand a novelty, and on the other, full respect for tradition. All modifications are out of sight and the roof, once completed, is identical to the traditional Roman roofing that we all know and love.

When and how the treating must be done? It must start about a month after being laid with grounting and a week if the being laid cotto is with glue. There are three steps: washing, waterproofing and final waxing. Let’s study these in detail. Wash only, under no circumstances must the cotto be waterproofed or waxed. No liability will be accepted for outdoor paving treated in this manner.

The washing helps to completely remove any cement residues or anything else that may have formed during the subsequent operations. Three parts of water must be mixed in a backet with one part of acid, otherwise specific products that are easy to find on the market may be used. It’s a good idea to wear rubber gloves as the solution is acid and to use an acrylic pad, a brush or rag to scrub the floor. It not advisable to leave the acid solution on the floor for more than half an hour. Thoroughly rinse the part treated with plenty of water to eliminate the effect of the acid and dry with a rag. In the case of large areas it is recommended dividing this operation into two or more sections to be washed separately. The operation is finished. Before passing on to the next phase make sure that the floor is completely dry. This will take a week in summer or in the case of beingable to heat the environment and a few days longer during winter or damp season. This operation prevents the cotto from absorbing liquids and becoming stained. Tuscan cotto is in fact slightly porous - between 4% and 18% depending on the type - and this operation will make the floor waterproof and prevent it from absorbing liquids. Nowadays there are specific product, and for these it’s possible to address to cotto seller and to follow instructions on the label. Pour the product into a bucket and use a large paintbrush to cover the entire surface of the cotto, always brushing in the same direction and lifting the brush up at the edge of each tile where there is the grouting. Repeat the entire operation, this time brushing at a 90°C angle with respect to the previous operation. Take care to spread the product evenly to avoid the formation of foam. Once these two coats have been applied the operation is finished. It will now be necessary to wait one or two days before carrying out the waxing operation. The creamy wax or liquid can either be neutral - white wax -, or pink or dark brown wax. In the first case the natural colour of the cotto will remain unaltered, while with the others, a slightly aged or antique look will be obtained. The wax can be applied with a large paintbrush or a rag. It is a good idea to use a heavy hand with this first application as the floor is dry and will tend to absorb more. Following, use a polisher or a brush to produce a shine. The floor treated in this way is now finished and ready to last over the years without any problems. All that is necessary is to pass over a rag moistened with wax every three weeks.

This is the cotto that has always been used in the farmhouses of Tuscany. With its even surface and salmon red hue, this is the material of the old wood kilns. A proposal that takes us back to a peasant-style Tuscany, little-known until recently, which is attracting great attention today thanks to the rediscovery of values surrounding nature. The low cost of this material is a result of the simplicity of its production process, which, as already mentioned, is reminiscent of the more genuinetradition of the ancient kilns.

This cotto has a different look thanks to its colour, surface and solidity. An ancient flavour transpires from its varying shades of warm, luminous pink.
A cotto inspired by the handmade production with which it has a lot in common but for which it represents an alternative. The uneven and wavy surface, surprisingly pleasant to the touch, has an irregular yet repetitive pattern. The weight is another winning feature. No wonder the “Cotto de’ Calanchi” expresses a great sense of solidity: cotto to last forever.
Produced with a mixture of selected galestro, Cotto Antico brings back the flavour of handmade cotto with its naturally irregular surface, and varying shades of pink enhanced by sparkling sand crystals.

A perfect imitation with the added advantage that Cotto Antico costs much less than handmade cotto. With this cotto the splendid style of traditional handmade cotto is within everyone’s reach. Ideal for ceilings, it also ensures extremely beautiful results for floors. This is the cotto that with absolute rigour offers the true tradition of the old kiln workers of Tuscany: the sole ingredients being clay and elbow grease. Nothing more.

LThe effect of this production is difficult to describe as it involves both tactile and chromatic sensations, the former thanks to its coarse,uneven surfaces, at times rough, the latter thanks to the intermingling of its red and pink hues that vary from piece to piece. A product with incredible fascination therefore, that only the passion of noble craftsmen inextricably linked with their trade can convex .
The pleasure of being surrounded by antique objects that speak in a simple, serene tongue,like a sundial.

The sundial evokes far off times when the hours were measured by the sun and man’s time was marked by natural rhythms. This sundial must be set into a wall facing south with the copper gnome inclined at a 45° angle. It will only ever tell the time in fine weather, never with a cloudy sky.
Peraps it is the most beautiful change, because it’s inspired by the magic of handmade cotto and it lets all the features emerge: not uniform surfaces, clashed aspect, important thickness. It’s a type of cotto that outlines a strong lie with old kiln, from which, not by change, it takes its name, Cotto di Fornace.

Produzione di Cotto Toscano Pavimenti, rivestimenti, tetti e coppi in cotto Cotto Roofing terracotta floors and Romana cover Cotto in Toscana