This art form originated in the 1440's in Italy with Luca Della Robbia and was carried on by his nephew, Andrea and his son, Giovanni. Luca was greatly influenced by Nanni di Banco and Lorenzo Ghiberti bu it has not been determined who actually was the first to surround their works of art with garlands of fruit and flowers. Many of their original "Della Robbia" are still found in Italy today...the "Madonna of the Rosary", "Madonna of the Apple", "Meeting of St. Dominic and St. Francis" and the "Deposition" are all found in Florence. Today these "hand-painted, glazed terracotta" works of art are continued in Florence and its suburbs in the form of replicas of the old "masters".