Valencia welcomed us with light, color, and texture. Behind the carved facades of the historic center and in small workshops, we encountered a still-vibrant ceramic tradition, made of everyday objects, symbols, and techniques passed down through time.
Our trip was not just a visit to the city. It became a field study, exploring two forms particularly linked to Valencian culture: botijos and socarrats.
The photographs in this article were taken by us during our trip to Valencia.
Travel Coordinates
Valencia: a city to be read through its surfaces
Walking through Valencia, we observed a city built on continuous contrasts. The monumentality of historical architectures coexists with the daily life of markets, squares, and workshops.
The elaborate facades, ceramics, shutters, wrought iron, and warm tones of the walls create a landscape where decoration never appears completely separated from architecture.
Every street seemed to reveal a different fragment of the city: the proximity of the sea, the energy of the squares, the aroma of Valencian cuisine, and a material culture that continues to be present in everyday objects.
In Valencia, we recognized a principle close to the Vicode vision: the most interesting objects are not only beautiful but also preserve the memory of the place and the people who created them.
Everyday object · Sculptural form
The botijo: water, clay, and popular ingenuity
The botijo originated as a water container. Its shape is immediately recognizable: a bulging body, an opening for filling, and a spout from which to drink.
The porosity of the clay traditionally kept the water cool. A simple function that has given rise to countless interpretations, varying in proportions, color, decoration, and region.
We were struck by its ability to naturally transition from a household object to a sculptural presence. Even when no longer used for its original function, the botijo retains an organic form and a strong Mediterranean identity.
Pasión Botijos
The traditional form of the Valencian container enters contemporary interiors through textured ceramics, intense colors, and designer interpretations.
Discover the collectionSocarrats: images born to inhabit architecture
Alongside the botijos, we encountered the socarrats, terracotta tiles decorated with animals, human figures, plant motifs, coats of arms, and creatures from the Valencian imagination.
Before becoming collector's items, socarrats were part of architecture. They were primarily used between the wooden beams of ceilings, transforming the house's structure into a narrative surface.
Their limited palette, marked outlines, and irregularities of handmade craftsmanship give them a surprisingly graphic language. Even when viewed outside their original context, they continue to resemble small fragments of a story.
The story
Origin, architectural function, technique, and meaning of the ancient Valencian tiles.
In interiors
Tiles, ceramics, and three-dimensional forms designed to adorn walls beyond paintings.
The encounter
In the workshop of Artesanía Yuste
One of the most important moments of the trip was meeting the Yuste family. Entering their space allowed us to observe closely a tradition that doesn't just belong to the past, but continues through daily practice.
Enrique Yuste's son carries on the family business, while África Yuste continues to hand-paint the socarrats. Each piece shows slight variations in brushwork, pigments, and surface.
The socarrats chosen during the trip bore África's signature. A simple detail, yet one that immediately reveals the connection between the object and the person who made it.
From the travel diary
We weren't looking for perfect or interchangeable objects. We were looking for traces: a different brushstroke, an irregular edge, a form capable of preserving the voice of the person who created it.
Bringing Valencia into contemporary interiors
A botijo or a socarrat doesn't necessarily require a rustic or traditional setting. Their strength also emerges in contrast with minimalist interiors, natural surfaces, and contemporary furnishings.
A botijo can be displayed on a sideboard, a console, or within a bookshelf. Its organic shape breaks the rigidity of architectural lines and introduces a material presence.
A socarrat can be hung as a small artwork, placed on a shelf, or integrated into a composition with paintings, sculptures, and other ceramics.
In both cases, the goal is not to reconstruct a Valencian interior, but to create a dialogue between history, craftsmanship, and contemporary space.
From Valencia to Vicode
We brought with us objects, photographs, and encounters. But above all, a way of seeing ceramics as living memory, capable of entering contemporary homes without losing their identity.
Pasión Botijos History of SocarratsLorenzo & Elena — Vicode
