Now a modern centre for art restoration, the museum annexed to the Opificio delle Pietre Dure descends directly from the art workshop specialised in semi-precious stones founded in 1588 by Ferdinando I de’ Medici.
The organisation of the Museum reflects the life and experiences of the Opificio’s manufacturing activity.
The most prestigious creations of the Opificio, many offered as gifts by the Florentine grand dukes, are conserved in European royal palaces and museums. On the other hand, unfinished works or pieces that are the result of subsequent modifications and dismantling remained in the workshop, along with pieces surviving from the 19th-century dispersions which ended in 1882 with the collection’s musealisation. The collection includes magnificent and highly refined pieces and is nonetheless sufficient to highlight the workshop’s timeline spanning three centuries, as well as an important collection of samples of ancient marbles and semi-precious stones to be used in the “commesso” technique.
The museum was renovated to Adolfo Natalini’s design in 1995. The reorganisation of the collection curated by Anna Maria Giusti follows a thematic and chronological criterion: the first rooms document the productions during the Grand Duchy of the Medici and Lorraine, while the 19th-century rooms display artefacts of the post-Unification period. The mezzanine floor of the hall is dedicated to manufacturing techniques: from a rich assortment of stones to workbenches and tools, and to the didactic exemplification of inlay and carving work. One can thus retrace the complete process from conception to the final result and discover in depth a fascinating episode of Florentine art history.