Opening Hours:
Monday - Saturday, 8:15 am - 14:00 pm; Closed: Sundays, January 1, May 1, June 24 and December 25
Next Exibitions:
Booking Terms:
Entry at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure is available only at fixed time and the visit is accompanied by security personnel.
Monday - Saturday, 9:00 am, 10:45 am, 12:30 pm ; Thursday, 9:00 am, 10:45 am, 12:30 pm, 2:00 pm, 3:45 pm and 5:30 pm.
Reservation on line is allowed to 16 persons maximum. For groups of more than 16 persons: please send a specific email to info@theworldismine.it
Prices
In order to know the price of tickets for a specific date, please select date, time of visit, and number and kind of tickets.
Reductions
- European citizens (EEC) aged 18 to 25 : reduced prices
- European citizens (EEC) under 18 or over 65 : reduced prices
- Children under 6 years old: free tickets and do not require a reservation.
Ordering Information
The reservation must be made with a minimum of 3 working days notice.
To order your reserved tickets, please fill out the ‘reservation form’ and submit it to The World Is Mine using our secure server.
IMPORTANT: if you wish to visit the Museum with other person, please DO NOT SUBMIT SEPARATE REQUESTS for each person as the Museum will not guarantee that you can get the same time slot unless you submit one combined request for all people involved.
Process of the bookings
Your order will be processed by The World Is Mine, and the total charge will be billed to your credit card by The World Is Mine.
If The World Is Mine is not able to confirm the date or time you request, you will be offered an alternative and your card will not be charged until you approve the alternative.
After your reservation, The World is Mine will send to you two e-mails: immediately after submitting your reservation, the copy of your order; one working day after, the confirmation mail with your confirmation number and detailed instructions.
Cancellatio Policy
To cancel or change the reservation without penalty, please notify that at The World is Mine by email: info@theworldismine.it within 24 hours.
If you don’t do that, The World is Mine is allowed to proceed with confirming the reservations you have requested below and the non-refundable charge below will be billed to your credit card by The World Is Mine.
IMPORTANT: the tickets are absolutely NON-REFUNDABLE.
Modifications
For any modification you have to pay a ‘modification fee’ of 9.00 Euro if you must change the time and/or date after the confirmation has been issued.
Other important information
- In order to receive the email form The World is Mine, please make sure you insert your email address correctly and check that your anti-spam filter or antivirus are not blocking mails from our address info@theworldismine.it
- If you do not receive any communication from The World is Mine within 48 hours from your reservation, please contact immediately The World is Mine at info@theworldismine.it
- We guarantee we will respond to your request within 48 hours but we cannot be responsible for the correct functioning of your email address and we regret that we will not be liable for any consequences resulting from having been provided the wrong email address.
- If you would like to book a ticket with less than 3 days notice, we regret that The World is Mine cannot accept your request. This is because if we email you the voucher and you are unable to receive it or download it or print it, the purchase for these tickets is still absolutely NON-REFUNDABLE, NON-APPLICABLE AND NON-TRANSFERABLE.
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. 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.
The small museum in 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).
