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In the Pitti Palace, an exhibition celebrating 150 years of Italian unity in a very special way.
From the splendours of the Court to bourgeois luxury - L'Opificio delle Pietre Dure in united Italy.
What does this exhibition bring together that arouses curiosity but is also of immense gratification to the eye?
It brings together the top-quality artistic products made from the finest materials
that the Opificio delle Pietre Dure continued to produce after the unification of Italy.
Why do I say ‘continued to produce'? Because it could also have stopped,
since it was an institution that the Lorraine family, at the time of the Restoration government,
had established under the name of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, but which in reality was founded upon an invaluable legacy:
that of the artistic workshops fostered and sustained by the Medici family
which in 1588, under Ferdinando I, had been brought together inside the western wing
of the Uffizi, under the name of the “Galleria dei Lavori”.
So an ancient tradition of creating artistic objects,
which the artists were the first to contribute to
since they prepared the subject, the idea, the composition and the colours.
Followed by those who selected the stones and the master stonecutters
creating masterpieces destined to endure for eternity.
So it seemed that this art would come to an end with the unification of Italy.
When the Savoy dynasty took over within the Kingdom of Italy,
it could no longer be a manufactory at the exclusive service of the court.
And since such prized objects in semi-precious stones were not exactly the height of fashion,
there was a real risk that the Opificio might close.
Instead with great commitment and a few changes, and the ingenious ideas that it gradually came up with,
it continued to create and produce, and also adapted to changing aesthetic tastes,
experimenting, even in what seems to be a rigid art form that is difficult to change:
the stone commesso, as it is called in technical jargon,
a Florentine-style mosaic made with pieces of semi-precious stone, soft stones and coloured marble.
And it even managed to give this extremely meticulous art
the vibrant and soft-edged touch of Macchiaioli-style painting
in experiments of different composition, and different pictorial tone with really memorable results.
These precious objects were still often made for the court
but the Opificio also attempted to approach the market.
It managed to sell some of these important pieces to the great bourgeois families
that were becoming established and wanted to ennoble their residences with important pieces.
Nevertheless we know that the true cause, the real reason for the survival of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure
was its move into restoration.
Today it is one of the centres of excellence of the Ministry for the Cultural Heritage
dealing with scientific research and the restoration of a myriad of different objects
in its scientific departments and laboratories.
However, semi-precious stones continue to be its fundamental and symbolic sector
and, if need be, our restorers would still be more than capable of overseeing the creation of new works.