Today’s market leaders and trendsetters in ceramic manufacturing are other companies, many of which we have covered in previous posts: Ceramica FLAMINIA,Ceramica CATALANO, GLOBO Ceramiche, KERASAN, GALASSIA, GSI Ceramica, DURAVIT, AXA Ceramica, HATRIA Ceramiche, ALTHEA… and more. However, the company we are discussing today, CERAMICA SCALA of Pordenone, was the largest European sanitaryware company when it was sold to American Standard (which later became Ideal Standard) in 1969. At the time, it had four plants spread across the Pordenone area, Roccasecca (FR), and Spain.
Founded just 25 years earlier by Giulio Locatelli, the company quickly became known for the incredibly high quality of its ceramics, attracting the immediate interest of the multinational American Standard, which rightly acquired it. In the following years, Ideal Standard kept the Scala brand active, assigning it the formally simpler, yet extremely robust sanitaryware lines, which offered a truly fantastic quality-to-price ratio. Countless customers still have toilets and bidets with the Scala brand in their bathrooms after decades, a testament to the long-lasting durability of these products—truly a quality of a bygone era.
As mentioned, formal beauty may never have been the company’s main commercial strength, but the simplicity of its shapes was designed for comfort and ease of use. These were still the days when sanitary fixtures were considered merely hygienic elements (almost to be hidden) and not also pieces of furniture that contributed to the aesthetic value of the bathroom itself.
The Scala Ceramic Series
IRIL Series by Scala ceramica
The shape of this sanitary fixture inspired dozens of series from Scala’s competing ceramic manufacturers. We have reviewed them in the post: “Narrow WCs and bidets. Measurements less than 35 cm in width. What are the toilet seat covers for these sanitary fixtures?“, where we saw very similar sanitaryware, such as the ELLISSE and ONDINE series by Ideal Standard, and PERLA by Dolomite. Like all these models, its width is only 35 cm (a good 2 cm less than the standard oval of 37 cm). This makes it a narrow WC easily placeable in any bathroom environment. The very low list price range (Ideal Standard acquired the Scala company and kept the brand active precisely to have two distinct product lines and price points) allowed for a market diffusion worthy of a superstar. You can find the IRIL toilet seats in the Sintesibagno store, including the champagne colour variant, at the following link [ clik HERE ].
TANGA Series by Scala Ceramica
This was one of the first teardrop-shaped sanitary fixtures introduced to the sanitary market. We discussed these particular models in the post: ”Teardrop-shaped sanitaryware and toilet seat covers. Narrow at the back and wide at the front (part 2)” and in the previous one: ”Toilet seats and sanitary ware with teardrop shapes (and their measurements) – part 1”, where we saw all the ceramic series inspired by Tanga: LIUTO seres by Ideal Standard, ARETUSINA series by Cesame, CLIO by Eos Ceramiche, AFFETTO and GRACE by Ceramica Globo. All Tanga toilet seats in the colours CHAMPAGNE, VISON, LIGHT BLUE, PINK and WHITE are available in the Sintesibagno store at the following link [ clik HERE ].
SPAZIO Series by Scala Ceramica
This iconic series in the bathroom furnishing world represents the sole exception to the company’s usual simplicity. It is a 60s and 70s sanitary fixture that was surprising for its incredible line at the time. In subsequent years, it was complemented by a toilet seat (produced by Friges) featuring a rear crescent that concealed the hinges and fit into the design of the back of the toilet, creating a very unique aesthetic effect. The toilet and its seat can be considered large forms. The toilet seat measures nearly 50 cm from the fixings to the end of the bowl. Unfortunately, the three-piece toilet seat with the crescent is no longer available; however, we have selected a version (which will show the rear hinges) that is perfect in length and curves, which you can find in the Sintesibagno store at the following link [ clik HERE ].
GEMMA Series by Scala Ceramica
We remain in the Scala ceramic catalog. With this series, the company attempted, and partially succeeded, to replicate the sales success of the Iril. Gemma was a mass-market product, ideal for residential and public housing and perfect for secondary bathrooms. It was a typical, economical, and widely specified product. Its contained dimensions made it suitable for small bathrooms and public restrooms. The shape of this sanitaryware is also typically teardrop-shaped. It was produced in both floor-standing and wall-hung versions. For this toilet, two qualities of toilet seats have always been available: the more robust, white coated wood version (which enhances the WC) and a thermoplastic variant (ideal for public premises). You will find both at the following Sintesibagno link [ clik HERE ]
We have begun to look at some of the SCALA ceramic production and their toilet seats. If you still have doubts about which toilet seat to look for for your WC, we suggest sending us an email to info@sintesibagno.it or a WhatsApp message to the number +39 3341288978 with two images of your sanitary fixture and a few measurements, and we will be able to help you with your choice. Here is the video on how to proceed with the toilet seat search:
