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Maioliche di Sicilia · 2026

Maioliche di Sicilia

Sicily, one detail at a time. A photographic archive of Sicilian majolica tiles, turned into a web experience to explore, browse and recompose.

Agency
Personal Project
Client
Maioliche di Sicilia
My role
Designer & Developer
In collaboration with
Viaggioinsicilia.it & Pomice Studio
What I did
  • Concept
  • Web Design
  • Art Direction
  • Front-end Development
  • Interaction Design
  • SEO

Maioliche di Sicilia is a personal photographic project, born from my own concept, that catalogues the island’s majolica tiles one at a time, alongside the Instagram profile @maiolichedisicilia. The website had to be the project’s home beyond Instagram: a place where the photographs could have space and silence.

We designed it as an essential showcase, then turned browsing into play: a generative mosaic multiplies any tile into an endless floor you can rearrange, rotate and remix.

Sicily, one detail at a time. A photographic archive that becomes an experience: the island’s majolica tiles to explore, browse and recompose.

An editorial language

We chose an editorial voice: a paper-toned background, serif headlines with expressive italics, a cobalt blue taken from the glazes and a few accents of sulphur yellow and terracotta. The layout stays in the background, so the tile is always the protagonist.

Editorial, essential. The homepage: serif typography, a paper background and a different tile on every visit, changing on its own every seven seconds.
From the big screen to the palm of your hand. The same editorial balance, from the collection grid on desktop to the hero on a smartphone.
Swipe, tap, discover. On mobile every section is designed for the thumb: swipe between tiles, readable cards, an invitation to collaborate.

The challenge

Showing dozens of photographs of very similar objects without making navigation monotonous, and giving the Instagram audience a reason to visit the website and stay.

The solution

A sober interface that lets the images speak, and an interaction that turns browsing into a game. The generative mosaic shows the majolica for what it really is: a fragment designed to repeat itself and become a surface.

The homepage shows a different tile every time, changing on its own every seven seconds; on desktop you browse with the arrows, on mobile with a swipe. Then there is the mosaic, the heart of the project: with one key (or a double tap) the tile multiplies and fills the screen. You can switch between layouts (identical, alternating, rosette, rows), rotate the tiles and mix different patterns. Every combination is a floor that doesn’t exist yet.

One tile is beautiful. Together, even more so. The generative mosaic: endless floors born from a single tile. Identical, alternating, rosette or in rows.
Every touch, a new floor. Mix different patterns and rotate the tiles. On mobile the controls become touch buttons.

Static, light, multilingual

The website is static, lightweight and has no CMS: to add a new photograph you just upload a numbered file, and the gallery, the automatic rotation and the mosaic pick it up on their own. It is available in four languages (Italian, English, Spanish, German), respects the reduced-motion preference and is optimized for SEO and social sharing.

One island, four languages. Italiano, English, Español, Deutsch: all texts and accessible descriptions, carefully translated.
Visual identity A palette drawn from the glazes: cobalt blue, sulphur yellow and terracotta on a paper background. Headlines in Georgia, interface in Arial.
Small works. Great wonder. A gallery that grows by itself: upload a new photograph and it joins the collection and the mosaic.

Highlights

  • Generative mosaic on canvas: 4 layouts, 90° rotations, random combinations
  • Dynamic hero: a different tile on every visit, swipe and arrows to browse
  • Mobile first: touch controls, double tap, swipe
  • 4 languages with a persistent language switcher
  • Zero CMS: the collection grows by uploading a file
  • Accessibility: keyboard navigation, translated alt texts, reduced motion
  • Performance: minified static website, no framework

What’s next: a book

The project is growing beyond the screen: we are working on a book dedicated to interior designers, a collection of the most beautiful majolica tiles found around Sicily.

Visit maiolichedisicilia.it ↗

Follow @maiolichedisicilia on Instagram ↗