Terra cotta (Italian for "baked earth") is a hard ceramic clay used through centuries for pottery, architectural elements and sculpture. Terra cotta also refers to items made from the clay. They are most often of an ochre to red color and usually left unglazed.

Handmade Italian terra cotta is not only beautiful, but is well suited as a material for containers because it is porous and allows plant roots to breathe. Italian artisans use the high-quality clay native to the region of Chanti in Tuscany, which they carefully shape and hand-press into molds. The pots are then high-fired, which gives them a very durable and dense quality that enables them to last through season after season of weather changes.

These qualities make true terra cotta from Italy much more durable and beautiful than earthen pottery that is low-fired and made with non-ceramic clay. Earthern pots are more susceptible to breaking and chipping after only a limited exposure to cold or wet weather.