The terracotta pine cone is Calabria's symbol on its houses. You see it on roofs, gates and doors: it isn't just a shape, it's a good-luck wish. In Calabria the pine cone brings luck, fertility and abundance. It was placed outside to welcome guests and keep evil away.
 
 
 
This one is handmade by Maurizio in Altomonte. The clay is worked on the wheel and the glaze applied by hand. The small surface imperfections and variations in the glaze are the marks of an object made without moulds, one at a time.
 
 
 
Put it outside by the door, on the windowsill or the terrace. Or indoors, in a corner of the house, because it brings something with it.
 
 
 
A symbol that needs no explanation. Anyone who knows Calabria recognises it at once.