Hardstone Workshop of Florence
It consists, in fact, in its three locations, of specialized laboratories in the following sectors: stone materials, bronzes, goldsmithing, ceramics, terracotta and plastic materials, mosaics (historic site on via degli Alfani), tapestries (flag room in Palazzo Vecchio), paintings, frescoes, paper, wood, textiles (site of Fortezza da Basso, v.le Strozzi, 1). The laboratories can be visited, by telephone reservation (0554625441-0554625448), on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday mornings.
Furthermore, in the historic site is located the Opificio Museum, a treasure chest of precious works, which preserves the masterpieces of hardstones owned by the Grand Dukes of Florence. In the recently renovated rooms, you can admire the splendid materials and the astonishing technique of the Florentine ‘commessi’, of the mosaics and the various hardstone furnishings, produced from 1588 to the end of the nineteenth century by the manufactory created for this purpose by the Medici. And of that ancient manufactory, the Museum also presents the stone reserves, the working tools, and the technical secrets from which these magical creations were born.
The Opificio is also home to an important advanced training school, with a four-year duration, to which access is granted through a public competition. Finally, the Institute is equipped with a well-stocked Library and a Restoration and Photographic Archive.
Museum of the Hardstone Workshop
Opened at the end of the nineteenth century and refurnished in 1995, the museum illustrates the production and history of the court manufactory specialized in hardstone works (lapis lazuli, chalcedonies, agates, jaspers, etc.), which was established in 1588 by Ferdinand I de’ Medici. The Opificio, initially located at the Uffizi, was transferred to the current location in 1796 and today has transformed into a restoration laboratory.
The museum preserves beautiful furnishings (cabinets, tables, panels for the Chapel of the Princes of San Lorenzo) decorated with commesso, that is, with stones cut and juxtaposed in such a way as to form pictorial compositions with their natural colors, or with related techniques of painting on stone and scagliola. The laboratory’s setup displays samples of the materials, workbenches, and tools.
