La Bisbal d'Empordà is a CRAFT CITY

La Bisbal d'Empordà is the first World Craft City in continental Europe, and the fifth European city (the remaining four are located on the islands of Scotland, England, Ireland and Denmark) out of a total of fifty worldwide. This has been determined by the World Crafts Council Europe (WCC-E) after the visit that a delegation of crafts experts made to the city in October 2021, following the request presented by the Bisbal d’Empordà City Council.

Being a World Craft City carries an international recognition, unprecedented until now, that formalizes the historical tradition that has always linked Bisbal to ceramics and, therefore, to crafts.

The WCC- Europe promotes crafts and arts characterized by design throughout Europe. One of its main objectives is to work with the network of cities called ' Crafts Cities ' to develop initiatives and, at the same time, analyse the challenges of European crafts. It is part of the WCC, which represents crafts on an international scale, and - officially, politically and administratively - promotes crafts as a major professional activity, participating in international cooperation programs relevant to the craft sector. The WCC-E offers the opportunity to establish new contacts and networks, as well as to share resources through the annual general meeting and other relevant events. Catalonia, through the Consortium of Commerce, Crafts and Fashion (CCA) of the Generalitat, has been a member of the WCC-E since 2018, and has actively collaborated in different programs to promote and disseminate European crafts: what are Crafts like ? Code , Crafting Europe or the European Craft Days.

An ideal ecosystem at the artisanal level

Crafts in general, and ceramics in particular, is a very important part of life in La Bisbal and it is on l' Aigüeta Street where a good part of the town's craft shops are concentrated. And, at a craft level, La Bisbal has an ecosystem that makes it an ideal place to develop ceramic activity: Terracotta Museum , the Association of Ceramists, the School of Ceramics, The Federation of Commerce, a brand protected at the European level, Cerámica de la Bisbal and a favorable environment with all kinds of services related to crafts. La Bisbal is recognized by the Generalitat of Catalonia, through the CCAM, as a Zone of Unique Trades for ceramics, a recognition that aims to identify and promote a series of trades located in specific spaces in Catalonia. The municipality attracts a large number of visitors and tourists who seek to see, touch and buy crafts in its streets and has a very dynamic industrial and commercial fabric.

In 2020, the Generalitat of Catalonia responded to the request of the Bisbal City Council d'Empordà to include in the regulations for the legalization of activities a new business scale in the ceramic sector so as not to harm the new installation of small and medium-sized companies that manufacture less than 10 tons of product per day (previously the manufacturing limit was up to 75 tons daily). This change in regulations, in addition to facilitating the administrative procedures to obtain municipal authorization for new installations of artisan workshops, became essential for the strategy of attracting and installing new ceramic artisans in the capital of Baix Empordà. The town is a leading ceramics centre with more than 40 companies in the sector operating, including those from neighbouring municipalities, and with a commercial hub linked to ceramics that concentrates 20 specialized stores. And it is in this axis where the council is committed to installing new shop-workshops to be able to offer visitors an artisanal experience when purchasing ceramics from La Bisbal.