These Tiles by Fangorosa Offer a Fresh Take on Classic Terra-cotta Techniques

In Lombardy, the Italian tradition of marbled terra-cotta dates to the renaissance, when it was used as flooring that mimicked real marble. Back then, red and white clay were mixed. Today, Fangorosa updates the technique with black and white clay, which forms veining that’s prac­tically psychedelic. The colors result from tapping different strata, and the tile name, Lambro Vissuto Core, is a tribute to the Lambro River that traverses the region and nourishes the earth that bequeaths the clay. The indoor wall and floor tile draws the eye to its center shape, a circle in solid White, Black, or Terracotta. It’s wrapped by rectangles with swirly variegation that give way to the center via half-moon cutouts. Together, the shapes form a beautiful Euclidean puzzle.