In a spacious room enhanced by sunlight, Delia Binaglia methodically adds brushstrokes of color to a fired piece of pottery. Her details are the final touches learned from the antique tradition of majolica ceramics, practiced in the Umbrian town of Deruta. Binaglia, and her husband Antonio Ranocchia, have been creating ceramics for over 60 years, and are the founders of the ceramic factory MOD Deruta Italian Ceramics (MOD), now managed by their children Ivan and Grazia.

The town of Deruta is defined by the ancient craft of pottery making, and everywhere a visitor looks there are signs that the inhabitants are proud of mastering and upholding techniques passed on through the centuries. Historical documentation showed that majolica ceramics (pottery covered in an opaque tin glaze, decorated with a motif, and then fired) were produced in Deruta as far back as the late 13th century. In 1290, the potters of Deruta were commissioned by the local church San Nicola to paint pictures on vases.