I love geometric patterns. I'm always interested to see how they appear again and again through time and different cultures, and I find them a good source of inspiration for embroideries or crafts.
Medieval tiles are a good source of small and simple geometric patterns, and I have a couple of books about them. Unfortunately I'm not aware of anything about Italian tiles; I usually take photos wherever I go (I love to take photos of small details! Of architecture, indoor decorations, etc.) but I couldn't find any book about this subject.
The best book I found is a small booklet, "Medieval Tiles" by Hans van Lemmen, published by Shire Library.
It only has 40 pages, but it's really stuffed with information and very good colour photos.
It contains historical and technical explanations about tilemaking, and it's really surprising to see that some models are still manufactured now, many centuries after their invention.
-The medieval tile industry
-Relief and line-impressed tiles
-Mosaic tiles
-Two-colour tiles
-The legacy of medieval tiles
-Further reading
-Places to visit
Illustrations are in every page and the level of detail and quality of print are very good; many drawings could be used for decorations and embroideries!
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