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Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence

Opificio delle Pietre Dure
Via degli Alfani, 78 - tel.055 2651357

"Art and nature" could be the motto of this extraordinary museum dedicated to semi-precious stone inlays, where artistic talent competes only with the splendour ot the materials employed.

It was the passion of the Medici for this precious form of art that led Grand Duke Ferdinando I de` Medici to establish in 1588 a court laboratory specialised in semi-precious mosaics and inlays. This grand ducal institution, which remained active lor over three centuries, was the core of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, established at the end of the 19lh century, which still has its seat in the original location chosen in 1798 for the laboratories formerly housed in the Uffizi.

The Florentine production was lavish and very prestigious and is today represented by the fine examples preserved both in Florentine and foreign museums. Yet, this small museum is the only institution that focuses only on this theme and offers therefore the opportunity of fully understanding this suggestive chapter of Florentine history. The collection is arranged by themes in chronological order. The first section is dedicated lo The first Grand dukes and semi-precious stones. This section displays porphyry sculptures dating back to the age of Cosimo I de` Medici, who had a special predilection for this ancient and precious material, enriched by sophisticated furniture pieces in semi-precious stones made for his sons Francesco I and Ferdinando I. The so-called "Florentine brand" dates back to this period, that is to the late 16th century. The brand, that would continue to be for centuries the pride of the laboratory, consists in a very-imaginative mosaic technique that used natural colours and precious stones, cut in sections and skilfully matched to form a larger image. "Stone painting" was the term chosen by its initiators to define Florentine mosaics, because this technique enables to represent a varying range of subjects, fully represented in the museum, ranging from portraits to abstract subjects, from landscapes to stories with figures, from architectural views to natural themes.

"Stone flowers" is the section dedicated to the very trendy theme of flowers, that flourished between the 17th and 18th centuries. Flowers were often matched with fruit and birds and were used in particular to decorate table tops or cover chests. From the early years of the 17th century, the laboratory also contributed to the monumental project ol the Chapel of the Princes, the mausoleum of the Medici family erected in 1604 by Ferdinando I, who had planned to entirely decorate it with semi-precious stones. Works were completed only during mid-19th century. ... from "Museums and Galeries of Florence and Surroundings" (Apt Firenze)

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