Paolo Zoli Biography
Paolo Zoli, son of the ceramist Carlo, was born in Faenza in 1885. Trained as a decorative ceramist at the Faenza ceramic factory "Fratelli Minardi" in the early 1900s, in 1914 Paolo Zoli was among the partners who took over, upon the death of the owners, manufacturing, but due to Italy's entry into the war, he was called up to arms and forced to leave the factory. Zoli returned to Faenza at the end of the First World War, after a short period still spent at "Minardi", he opened the factory in 1919, together with Pietro Melandri, Dino Fabbri and Amerigo Masotti, in the premises owned by his family in Borgo Durbecco. "La Faience" ceramics where both ceramics are created based on classic shapes and decorations of the Faenza tradition, as well as works oriented towards the search for new shapes and decorations of secessionist and Liberty influence. The company was short-lived, in 1920 Pietro Melandri opened his own workshop, Dino Fabbri left Faenza and Amerigo Masotti looked for a job as an employed ceramist. In 1921 Paolo Zoli found himself the sole owner of a factory and in a short time he managed to expand production, which in addition to including commercial products was made up of artistic works of great value, increase the number of employees which in 1924 became around twenty and The following year he decided to expand the factory. In 1927 Paolo Zoli, in partnership with the knight Aldo Boari of Bologna and the Forlì ceramics merchant Visani, attempted to reopen, without success, the "Trerè" ceramics factory in Faenza. Paolo Zoli died in Faenza in 1960.