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The Institute

The Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD) is a special autonomous institute of the Ministry of Culture, part of the Directorate-General for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape, which operates as a centre of expertise and national reference in the field of art conservation, carrying out restoration, research and advanced training activities. Founded by Ferdinando I de’…

Activity information

History

The Opificio delle Pietre Dure (hereafter OPD) has its roots in Medicean Florence. The original Opificio was founded in 1588 by Ferdinando I de’ Medici as a court manufactory specialised in the production of art objects made of semi-precious stones. Here, artistic items were created and then used to furnish the grand-ducal residences or offered as gifts. The Opificio was first located in the ‘Galleria dei lavori’ in the eastern wing of the Uffizi.

The manufactory continued to be operational under the Lorraine dynasty. For over three centuries, until the end of the nineteenth century, it worked at the ornamentation of the Cappella dei Principi in the Church of San Lorenzo (the mausoleum housing the Medici sepulchres). Evidence of this remarkable artistic period remains in the OPD Museum located in its historical headquarters in the Via degli Alfani.

With the end of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy, the Opificio lost its main patron. Thanks to the far-sighted vision of its new Director, Edoardo Marchionni, it gradually transformed into a specialised centre for restoration. It expanded beyond the city of Florence and its province (the work on the mosaics of the dome of Florence’s Baptistery was greatly important), and began operating also in the large-scale restoration of mosaics and stone materials in national and international spheres: the Baptistery of Albenga in Liguria, the main monuments in Ravenna, the Chapel of the Sacrament in the Cathedral of Reggio Calabria, the mosaic floors of Pomposa Abbey, the Cathedral of Salerno, the Roman buildings on the island of Kos, and elsewhere. After the Second World War, the Opificio contributed to the recovery of important works damaged by the war, focusing on the restoration of stone, mosaics, and terracotta.

The modern-day Institute also owes its existence to the Gabinetto Restauri (Restoration Department) of the Soprintendenza delle Belle Arti of Florence, founded in 1932 by Ugo Procacci. This can be considered – for its early foundation – as the first modern restoration laboratory in Italy. One of the great contributions of the Gabinetto Restauri was the inclusion of scientific investigation as a preliminary activity in restoration works. This started with radiography, which then gave rise to the so-called era of “revelation restorations” that characterised the laboratory’s activities until the 1950s.

Following the tragic flood of Florence of 1966, the Gabinetto Restauri was transferred to a building inside the Fortezza da Basso (still the largest location of the OPD’s laboratories) to house in a safe place a considerable number of works to be restored. This included very large pieces such as Cimabue’s painted crucifix from the Museo dell’Opera di Santa Croce. Thanks in part to the cooperation with restorers coming from all over the world to secure artworks affected by the flood, the Florentine laboratory became one of the most innovative restoration centres in the world as it combines tradition with technological modernity.
In 1975, after the law establishing the Ministry for Cultural and Environmental Heritage, the original Opificio and the Gabinetto Restauri of the Soprintendenza merged into a single entity under the name of Opificio delle Pietre Dure and its Restoration laboratories, corresponding to the modern-day institute.

OPD Directors

Umberto Baldini  (1970-1983)

Margherita Lenzini Moriondo   (1983-1984)

Anna Forlani Tempesti  (1984-1986)

Antonio Paolucci  (1986-1988)

Giorgio Bonsanti  (1988-2000)

Cristina Acidini  (2000 2008)

Bruno Santi  (2008-2009)

Isabella Lapi (2009-2010)

Cristina Acidini  (2010-2012)

Marco Ciatti (2012-2022)

Emanuela Daffra (2022- in corso)

Opificio delle Pietre Dure: Presentation