Opificio delle pietre dure
Encyclopedia
The Opificio delle Pietre Dure e Laboratori di Restauro, literally meaning Workshop of Semi-precious Stones and Laboratories of Restoration, is a public institute of the Italian
Ministry for Cultural Heritage based in Florence
. It is a global leader in the field of art restoration
and provides teaching as one of two Italian state conservation schools (the other being the Istituto superiore per la conservazione ed il restauro
). The institute maintains also a specialist library and archive of conservation and a museum displaying historic examples of Pietre Dure
inlaid semi-precious stones artefacts. A scientific laboratory conducts research and diagnostics and provides a preventive conservation service.
Being one of the famous artistic workshops of the Italian Renaissance
, the Opificio was established in 1588 at the behest of Ferdinando I de' Medici to provide the elaborate, inlaid precious and semi-precious stoneworks. One of the masterpieces of the crafts is the overall decoration of the Cappella dei Principi (Chapel of Princes) in the Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze
. The technique, which originated from Byzantine
inlay
work, was perfected by the Opificio masters and the artworks they produced became known as "opere di Commessi Mediceo" (commesso is the old name of the technique, similar to ancient mosaics) and later as "Commesso in Pietre Dure" (semi-precious stones mosaic).
The artisans performed the exceptionally skilled and delicate task of inlaying thin veneers of semi-precious stones especially selected for their colour, opacity, brilliance and grain to create elaborate decorative and pictorial effects. Items of extraordinary refinement were created in this way, from furnishings to all manner of artworks. Today, artisans trained at the Opificio assist many of the world's museums in their restoration programmes.
The Opificio workshops were originally located in the Casino Mediceo, then in the Uffizi
and were finally moved to their present location in Via Alfani in 1796. After the end of the 19th Century the institute's activities moved away from the production of works of art and towards its restoration. At first specialising in hardstone carving
, in which the workshops were a world authority, and then later expanding into other related fields (stone and marble sculptures, bronzes, ceramics).
in Rome) and one of the very first ones in all the world.
The Gabinetto di Restauro used scientific methods for the preliminary exhaminition of the works of art (as X radiography) and began an outstanding campaign of restoration on Tuscan Early Masters paintings, that was later known as "Restauri di Rivelazione" (literally meaning revealing restoration).
In 1966, the fatal tragedy of the flooding of the River Arno, resulted in many priceless works of art requiring restoration. It provided a significant impetus for expansion of the Gabinetto di Restauro's research and restorative services. More space was needed because of the sheer number of artworks which required restoration and also, in some cases, the large size of the pieces themselves, such as the immense 4.48 x 3.9m Crucifix by Cimabue
from the Basilica di Santa Croce. The expansions provided new laboratories in the Fortezza da Basso.
Thanks to financial aid and an influx of expertise from throughout the world, the Florentine Laboratory became, in a short time one of the at the vanguard restoration laboratories in the world, combining traditional practices with modern technology.
In 1975, the Cultural Heritage Ministry merged the Opificio laboratories with the Gabinetto di Restauro (plus other minor Florentine restoration laboratories) and created a new Institute, the modern Opificio delle Pietre Dure e Laboratori di Restauro.
Today, the institute is organised in departments specific for the various types of artworks it treats. The laboratories are in three principal venues: in Via Alfani 78 , in the historic centre of Florence; in the Fortezza da Basso; and in Palazzo Vecchio
where restoration treatments on tapestries and textiles are carried out.
There are also several research and services offices.
The Opificio has a board of directors of the departments (Marco Ciatti, Cecilia Frosinini, Clarice Innocenti, Laura Speranza, Alessandra Griffo, Maria Donata Mazzoni), under the supervision of the soprintendente Isabella Lapi Ballerini.
It has also a gestional committee (Isabella Lapi Ballerini, Benedetto Luigi Compagnoni, Marco Ciatti, and members of other institutions: Giovanni Lenza, Pier Andrea Mandò); and a scientific committee (Isabella Lapi Ballerini, Cecilia Frosinini, Patrizia Riitano, and members of the Florentine cultural field, Giorgio Bonsanti, Maurizio Michelucci)
The small museum in the Via Alfani displays examples of Pietre Dure works, including cabinets, table tops and plates, showing an immense repertoire of decoration, usually either flowers, fruits and animals, but also sometimes other picturesque scenes, including a famous view of the Piazza della Signoria
. There is also a large baroque fireplace entirely covered in malachite
, a dazzling and brilliant green stone as well as copies of painting executed in inlaid stone. Some of the exhibition space is dedicated to particular types of stone, such as the paesina, extracted near Florence, the grain and colour of which can be used to create vivid landscapes.
An exhibition of the technical processes of Pietre Dure works through history, can be found on the first floor as well as a large range of finished works dating back to the time of the Medici. There are vases and furnishings decorated with Art Nouveau
designs of the late 19th and early 20th century, including a tabletop with a harp and garland by Emilio Zocchi
(1849) and another decorated with flowers and birds by Niccolò Betti (1855).
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Ministry for Cultural Heritage based in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. It is a global leader in the field of art restoration
Art restoration
Art restoration is related to art conservation. Restoration is a process that attempts to return the work of art to some previous state that the restorer imagines was the "original". This was commonly done in the past...
and provides teaching as one of two Italian state conservation schools (the other being the Istituto superiore per la conservazione ed il restauro
Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro
The Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro - ISCR is a body of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities in Rome...
). The institute maintains also a specialist library and archive of conservation and a museum displaying historic examples of Pietre Dure
Pietra dura
Pietra dura or pietre dure , called parchin kari in South Asia, is a term for the technique of using cut and fitted, highly-polished colored stones to create images. It is considered a decorative art...
inlaid semi-precious stones artefacts. A scientific laboratory conducts research and diagnostics and provides a preventive conservation service.
Origins and early history
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
, the Opificio was established in 1588 at the behest of Ferdinando I de' Medici to provide the elaborate, inlaid precious and semi-precious stoneworks. One of the masterpieces of the crafts is the overall decoration of the Cappella dei Principi (Chapel of Princes) in the Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze
Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze
The Basilica di San Lorenzo is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the city’s main market district, and the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III...
. The technique, which originated from Byzantine
Byzantine art
Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....
inlay
Inlay
Inlay is a decorative technique of inserting pieces of contrasting, often coloured materials into depressions in a base object to form patterns or pictures that normally are flush with the matrix. In a wood matrix, inlays commonly use wood veneers, but other materials like shells, mother-of-pearl,...
work, was perfected by the Opificio masters and the artworks they produced became known as "opere di Commessi Mediceo" (commesso is the old name of the technique, similar to ancient mosaics) and later as "Commesso in Pietre Dure" (semi-precious stones mosaic).
The artisans performed the exceptionally skilled and delicate task of inlaying thin veneers of semi-precious stones especially selected for their colour, opacity, brilliance and grain to create elaborate decorative and pictorial effects. Items of extraordinary refinement were created in this way, from furnishings to all manner of artworks. Today, artisans trained at the Opificio assist many of the world's museums in their restoration programmes.
The Opificio workshops were originally located in the Casino Mediceo, then in the Uffizi
Uffizi
The Uffizi Gallery , is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world.-History:...
and were finally moved to their present location in Via Alfani in 1796. After the end of the 19th Century the institute's activities moved away from the production of works of art and towards its restoration. At first specialising in hardstone carving
Hardstone carving
Hardstone carving is a general term in art history and archaeology for the carving for artistic purposes of semi-precious stones, also known as gemstones, such as jade, rock crystal , agate, onyx, jasper, serpentine or carnelian, and for an object made in this way. Normally the objects are small,...
, in which the workshops were a world authority, and then later expanding into other related fields (stone and marble sculptures, bronzes, ceramics).
Recent history
The second branch of the Institute (Laboratori di Restauro) had a more modern story. In 1932 Ugo Procacci, the distinghished scholar of Florentine art, in his career as an officer of the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage, founded a Laboratory of restoration (original Italian name: Gabinetto di Restauro)at the Florence Soprintendenza. It was the first modern restoration laboratory in Italy (pre-dating of 7 years the Istituto superiore per la conservazione ed il restauroIstituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro
The Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro - ISCR is a body of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities in Rome...
in Rome) and one of the very first ones in all the world.
The Gabinetto di Restauro used scientific methods for the preliminary exhaminition of the works of art (as X radiography) and began an outstanding campaign of restoration on Tuscan Early Masters paintings, that was later known as "Restauri di Rivelazione" (literally meaning revealing restoration).
In 1966, the fatal tragedy of the flooding of the River Arno, resulted in many priceless works of art requiring restoration. It provided a significant impetus for expansion of the Gabinetto di Restauro's research and restorative services. More space was needed because of the sheer number of artworks which required restoration and also, in some cases, the large size of the pieces themselves, such as the immense 4.48 x 3.9m Crucifix by Cimabue
Cimabue
Cimabue , also known as Bencivieni di Pepo or in modern Italian, Benvenuto di Giuseppe, was an Italian painter and creator of mosaics from Florence....
from the Basilica di Santa Croce. The expansions provided new laboratories in the Fortezza da Basso.
Thanks to financial aid and an influx of expertise from throughout the world, the Florentine Laboratory became, in a short time one of the at the vanguard restoration laboratories in the world, combining traditional practices with modern technology.
In 1975, the Cultural Heritage Ministry merged the Opificio laboratories with the Gabinetto di Restauro (plus other minor Florentine restoration laboratories) and created a new Institute, the modern Opificio delle Pietre Dure e Laboratori di Restauro.
Today, the institute is organised in departments specific for the various types of artworks it treats. The laboratories are in three principal venues: in Via Alfani 78 , in the historic centre of Florence; in the Fortezza da Basso; and in Palazzo Vecchio
Palazzo Vecchio
The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. This massive, Romanesque, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany...
where restoration treatments on tapestries and textiles are carried out.
There are also several research and services offices.
The Opificio has a board of directors of the departments (Marco Ciatti, Cecilia Frosinini, Clarice Innocenti, Laura Speranza, Alessandra Griffo, Maria Donata Mazzoni), under the supervision of the soprintendente Isabella Lapi Ballerini.
It has also a gestional committee (Isabella Lapi Ballerini, Benedetto Luigi Compagnoni, Marco Ciatti, and members of other institutions: Giovanni Lenza, Pier Andrea Mandò); and a scientific committee (Isabella Lapi Ballerini, Cecilia Frosinini, Patrizia Riitano, and members of the Florentine cultural field, Giorgio Bonsanti, Maurizio Michelucci)
Departments
- Tapestries and carpets
- Bronzes and ancient weapons
- Wooden Sculptures
- Wall Painting
- Drawings and Prints
- Stoneworks
- Pietre dure mosaics
- Jewelry
- Easel Paintings
- Terracotta and potteries
- Textiles
Museum
The small museum in the Via Alfani displays examples of Pietre Dure works, including cabinets, table tops and plates, showing an immense repertoire of decoration, usually either flowers, fruits and animals, but also sometimes other picturesque scenes, including a famous view of the Piazza della Signoria
Piazza della Signoria
Piazza della Signoria is an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It was named after the Palazzo della Signoria, also called Palazzo Vecchio....
. There is also a large baroque fireplace entirely covered in malachite
Malachite
Malachite is a copper carbonate mineral, with the formula Cu2CO32. This green-colored mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses. Individual crystals are rare but do occur as slender to acicular prisms...
, a dazzling and brilliant green stone as well as copies of painting executed in inlaid stone. Some of the exhibition space is dedicated to particular types of stone, such as the paesina, extracted near Florence, the grain and colour of which can be used to create vivid landscapes.
An exhibition of the technical processes of Pietre Dure works through history, can be found on the first floor as well as a large range of finished works dating back to the time of the Medici. There are vases and furnishings decorated with Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
designs of the late 19th and early 20th century, including a tabletop with a harp and garland by Emilio Zocchi
Emilio Zocchi
Emilio Zocchi was an Italian sculptor. He is best known for his busts, bas-reliefs and statuettes of classical and Renaissance individuals....
(1849) and another decorated with flowers and birds by Niccolò Betti (1855).