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The Opificio magnificently restored of art in the world: from Masaccio to
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In 1588 the Grand Duke Ferdinand I de’ Medici, generous and distinguished patron of the fine arts who followed his family’s enlightened tradition, established the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, in the premises formerly occupied by the convent of San Niccolò. The Opificio was the grand ducal manufacture consecrated to the wonderful and fascinating art of Florentine intarsia. The workshop was founded above all to train the skilled artisans needed to create the marble decorations of the Cappella dei Principi in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, a true yard of excellence to which the best architects, decorators, painters and sculptors of Tuscany contributed for approximately three centuries. But it is above all a luxurious anthology of the so-called “commesso fiorentino”, the stunning “stone paintings”, the precious marble and stone inlays made in the audacious technique of Florentine tradition, that rose to its highest splendour with the Opificio under the Medicis and is still kept alive by a handful of great masters. The Opificio’s museum displays many extraordinary witnesses of this ancient, demanding as well as emotional technique:
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extremely refined and precious specimens, that illustrate the glorious history of the workshop through three centuries, from the Medici and Lorraine grand duchy to the period after the unification of Italy, with fascinating materials that show the difficulty of this craft, from the work benches to the tools. At the end of the 19th century, with the end of grand ducal commissions, the Opificio ceased its activity and was entirely devoted to restoration and the conservation of its rich heritage. The current Opificio – a leading example of conservation and restoration, acclaimed also at an international level - was made Institute of Restoration by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities in 1975, merging the old Opificio Mediceo with the Restoration workshop, created within the Superintendency in 1932 and developed above all after the devastating flood of Florence in 1966. To save many world-renowned works of art damaged by the dramatic event, the Opificio developed sophisticated know-how and technologies, reaching the highest levels of competence and turning into a point of reference for the whole world. During its long history, the Opificio per-
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