The risers of the stairs that lead to the mezzanine floor are made with archaeological marbles, coming from the storerooms of the Opificio. Upon this floor is the fifth section of the museum, the so-called “hard stones workshop”. Here the complex mechanisms, both organizational and technical, permitting the creation of artworks in hard semiprecious stones, are displayed. Here you can see the collection of samples of hard and soft stones used by the workshop, set in window cases originally arranged by Edoardo Marchionni, director of the Opificio at the end of the nineteenth century. Over 600 stone samples testify the richness and variety of materials brought by the Medici from all over the world, contributing to the creation of the multi-colored palette of Florentine mosaics. Eighteenth-century workbenches, suitable for the carving of the stones, have been placed here to provide a better understanding of the manufacturing process. In the last two window cases on the left you will find some panels made by the Opificio during the 1950s. They testify the conservation and continuation of the Florentine mosaics manufacturing tradition within the Institute.
