Bottega Terracqua

Faenza gave the world the word faience. Most of its kilns now run on gas. Terracqua still burns wood for three days and nights, the potters sleeping in shifts, because the flame leaves marks no electric kiln can fake.

Each piece carries the accident of its firing — a blush of ash, a run of glaze. They call the flaws "the signature of the fire."

Collectors abroad pay handsomely. The makers themselves remain, deliberately, almost invisible.

Read the full story: The signature of the fire