Opificio delle Pietre Dure
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| Position of the authority | Institute | ||
| Consist | since 1588 | ||
| Headquarters | Monastero di San Niccolò di Cafaggio Florence | ||
| Authority management | Marco Ciatti | ||
| Website | http://www.opificiodellepietredure.it/ | ||
The Opificio delle Pietre Dure (short: OPF) is located in Via degli Alfani 78 in Florence and is a central institute under the auspices of the General Directorate for Education and Research of the Ministry of Cultural Goods and Tourism . The operational and research activities of the Opificio are carried out in restoration , the preservation of works of art and teaching restoration. The diploma issued by the Opificio corresponds to the diploma of a master’s degree .
The Opificio, together with the Istituto superiore per la conservazione ed il restauro (Higher Institute for Conservation and Restoration), is one of the most important and prestigious institutes in the field of restoration, not only at the national but also at the international level.
history
The two sectors of the institute
The institute was born from the amalgamation of two different components that have become more and more similar throughout history: in 1975 , with the law establishing the Ministry of Cultural Goods and Tourism, all Florentine restoration workshops (the old Opificio delle pietre dure and the Florentine restoration workshops), thanks to the autonomy that the old institution already enjoyed, united under the name and patronage of the Opificio delle pietre dure .
Historical Opificio delle pietre dure
The first "Opificio delle pietre dure" goes back directly to the old handicraft and art workshops of the Grand Duchy of Florence, which were founded in 1588 in the former monastery of San Niccolò by Grand Duke Ferdinando I de 'Medici as a workshop for the production of works in semi-precious stones , the so-called Art of the " commesso fiorentino " made of semi-precious stone , from which splendid inlays from gem stones are still made today . In particular, the Grand Duke had to train the necessary workers to build the large Medici Chapel , decorated with inlaid marble , in San Lorenzo . However, there were already workers who devoted themselves to this activity, at least in the workshops set up by Francesco I de 'Medici in the Casino di San Marco, from which the Opificio arose.
In contrast to the mosaic, the " Commesso " does not use geometric tiles, but rather carves larger pieces that are selected according to color, opacity, brilliance and nuances of the veins, creating a figurative design. In this way, works of art of exceptional value were created, from furniture to various objects to perfect copies of paintings, which today enrich museums around the world and testify to the ingenuity and technique of Florentine craftsmen .
At the end of the 19th century , with the decline of the Medici and Lorraine dynasties, the demand for the manufacture of stone inlaid furniture ended and production was replaced by the restoration of previous production. Other similar workshops for the materials used, such as mosaics and stone works of art, were attached to this restoration.
Florentine restoration workshops
The second component that merged with the modern institute is of more recent origin: it dates back to 1932, when Ugo Procacci , then a very young art historian, founded the first modern restoration workshop in Italy with the Soprintendenza delle Belle Arti in Florence . During this time, scientific restoration workshops were established almost all over the world, working a new historical and positive approach to the work of art (until then restoration was mainly a discipline called "gallery painters"). The workshops of the Fogg Art Museum in Boston , the National Gallery in London and the Doerner Institute in Munich were built between the late 1920s and early 1930s. The Soprintendenza delle Belle Arti workshop in Florence (the “Cabinet of Restoration” as it was called by Ugo Procacci) was the first in Italy and one of the first in the world. Among his merits was the use of scientific research as a preliminary work for the restoration, starting with the x-rays that uncovered the layers hidden under the repainting of many paintings. It allowed a reconstruction, which was carried out in many workshops until the 1950s.
After the tragic event of the flood of Florence in 1966 , when many works of art were in need of extensive restoration, research and restoration was given a huge boost. The “restoration cabinet” of the superintendent was then moved to a building within the Fortezza da Basso (still the largest seat of the Opificio's workshops today) in order to house a large number of works to be restored, some of them very large. like the huge painted cross by Cimabue from the Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce . Thanks to the help of restorers from all over the world, the Florentine workshop has become one of the most advanced centers in the world for restoration combining tradition and modern technology.
The current situation
The institute is divided into departments that correspond to the various materials that make up the artworks. It also houses a technical college, museum, and library specializing in the field of restoration.
structure
The headquarters of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure is in Florence. The institute is divided into three different locations:
- the historic headquarters in Via degli Alfani 78, which houses the restoration workshops of commesso and mosaics, stone materials, bronzes, goldsmiths and ceramics, as well as the school, library and museum;
- the headquarters in the Fortezza da Basso with a workshop for the restoration of paintings, paper, textiles and wood sculptures;
- the flag room in Palazzo Vecchio for the tapestries.
The historic seat occupies part of the old Monastero di San Niccolò di Cafaggio , which was abolished in 1783 . The Grand Duke himself expressed his willingness to redesign the complex and then assign it to an academy, a decision that over time made it necessary to rearrange the complex - based on a project developed by Bernardo Fallani and documented in detail in the historical archive of the city of Florence then work led by Gasparo Maria Paoletti and Giuseppe Del Rosso - and the inclusion of institutes that can in any case be attributed to this field of application: the Opificio delle Pietre Dure for this part and the Accademia di Belle Arti for the buildings on Via Ricasoli in Direction via Cesare Battisti, which also occupies the rooms already in the San Matteo hospital. The processing of semi-precious stones was moved to these premises a few years later, in 1798 , but had a much older history.
On the outside of the building are: a tabernacle which currently contains a veil of Veronica and originally a wonderful picture of the Immaculate Conception, which was moved to the cathedral in 1796 , and a plaque in memory of the painter Pietro Benvenuti and the engraver Raffaello Morghen . More precisely, this last inscription, added in 1877 , recalls how the two artists lived and died here, the first in 1844 , the second in 1833 . Federico Fantozzi also documents such cases and writes the following notes in his volume from 1843 : “In the part of the building on Via del Ciliegio and the door with the number 6084, died there on April 8, 1833 at the age of 73 years famous copper engraver Raffaello Morghen and today the Professor Pietro Benvenuti painter from Arezzo lives there. "
Directors
The directors of the Opificio delle pietre dure were:
- Umberto Baldini (1970-1983)
- Margherita Lenzini Moriondo (1983-1984)
- Anna Forlani Tempesti (1984–1986)
- Antonio Paolucci (1986–1988)
- Giorgio Bonsanti (1988-2000)
- Cristina Acidini (2000-2008)
- Bruno Santi (2008-2009)
- Isabella Lapi (2009-2010)
- Cristina Acidini (2010–2012)
- Marco Ciatti , since 2012
Restoration areas
- Image knitting and carpets
- archeology
- Bronze and ancient weapons
- painting
- Wall painting
- Paper and parchment materials
- Stone materials
- Mosaic and Pietre dura
- Goldsmithing
- Wooden sculptures
- textiles
- Ceramics
University
The first courses in the restoration school at Opificio delle pietre dure in Florence began in 1978. It was officially founded in 1992 and converted into a college in 1998. In 2004 the Scuola per il restauro del mosaico di Ravenna became a branch of the SAF in the OPD in order to integrate one of the historical areas of the institute.
The diploma of the School of Opificio delle pietre dure is equated with the diploma of the master's degree. The school rules were set in 2011.
The training lasts 5 years and is divided into 300 training units. This includes theoretical lessons and practical training that takes place in the workshops. Compulsory attendance is compulsory.
The teaching staff consists of internal staff as well as experts from institutions and institutes that are active in the fields of research and nature and environmental protection.
The study places are awarded annually as part of an international public competition organized by the Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo . The prerequisite for admission to the competition is possession of a five-year high school diploma or four years plus an additional year. EU citizens and non-EU citizens can take part in the competition.
These are the currently active training courses (PFP) at the OPD:
- PFP 1 stone materials and derivatives. Ornate architectural surfaces;
- PFP 2 Painted wooden and textile supports. Carved woodwork. Objects made of plastic, assembled and / or painted;
- PFP 3 Textile and leather goods;
- PFP 4 objects made of ceramic or glass. Metal and alloy materials and products;
- PFP 5 book and archive material. Paper objects. Photographic, cinematographic and digital material.
museum
 Museum entrance |
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| place |
Florence 
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| Art |
applied Arts
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| opening | 1862 |
| Website | |
The museum is located in the rooms to the left of the entrance hall, which have been open to the public as "exhibition rooms" since around 1862. Works with stone inlays, including cupboards, table tops and various decorative panels, which are provided with a wide repertoire of decorations, mostly with flowers, fruits and animals, but also with other pictorial scenes, including a view of the Piazza della Signoria . Some of the most notable works are the large baroque fireplace, completely covered with malachite , in a brilliant green, and copies of inlaid paintings, the brightness and beauty of which is sometimes greater than the originals on canvas exhibited next door.
Some rooms are dedicated to specific stones, such as B. the marble ruins quarried near Florence , whose colored layers, when properly dismantled, give the illusion of a painted rock landscape.
On the first floor there are inlay tools and a complete collection of Pietra Dura from the Medici period. The last room displays vases and furniture in the Art Nouveau style of the early 20th century, including a table top with a harp and garlands by Zocchi (1849) and one with flowers and birds by Niccolò Betti (1855).
At the end of the 1980s, the director of the Opificio Museum, Anna Maria Giusti, decided to undertake a thorough renovation of the old exhibition hall for the stone objects - despite the restructuring carried out by architects Lando Bartoli and Edward Maser in the 1960s, the floor plan dates back to the 19th century. Century - to turn it into a modern museum, organized according to a criterion both chronological and methodological.
The new floor plan provided for the entire museum to be relocated to the ground floor so that the rooms on the main floor could be used for offices. Adolfo Natalini , who designed the Teatro della Compagnia , was commissioned in April 1989 and in 1991 work could begin. They were completed in the summer of 1995 and the museum was officially opened on July 1 of the same year.
Some critical comments on the project; Vittorio Savi (1996) underlines the familiar character of the building, which looks like a house in which a wall has been removed to reveal the interior and in which the "rooms" consist of large classic wooden windows.
The central portal made of gray sandstone leads to the anteroom, on the rear of which the inner courtyard is visible and is also used for the exhibition of stone objects: on the sides of the anteroom are the porter's lodge and the stairs that lead to the upper floors and towards the courtyard the cash register and the entrance to the museum.
The measure included the redesign and development of the large hall, the redesign of the adjoining rooms from the 19th century and the establishment of cash registers and toilets on the ground floor.
The hall has a rectangular floor plan and has doubled the exhibition space, which was achieved by inserting three massive pillars (concrete and sandstone) and inserting a false ceiling that form four rooms with a square floor plan: these niches on the ground floor offer a view of the Corridor with windows, while on the upper floor they give way to a single room that is only interrupted by the columns. The showcases (made of cherry and pear wood) are located on the walls of the four niches (in which the pieces are housed according to a thematic and chronological concept) and on the lower side of the window. At the back of the room is the straight staircase that leads to the gallery floor, aligned with the outer edge of the three pillars: this side has and is the same as a slender arch through which one enters the nineteenth century rooms same stone cover and design of the pillars embossed; the steps and the parapet (the latter with a design reminiscent of Buontalenti ) are also made of pietra serena (sandstone), while the facades are clad with slabs of semi-precious stones (red, yellow and green). The salon and the adjoining rooms are illuminated by a diffuse light, while all showcases inside are illuminated by fiberglass .
credentials
- ↑ Biblioteca delle Pietre Dure dell'Opificio. In: www.iris.firenze.it. Archived from the original on August 15, 2007 ; accessed on September 16, 2019 (Italian).
- ↑ Law of January 20, 1992 no.57.
- ↑ Decree 368/1998 Article 9
- ↑ According to Legislative Decree 156/2006, article 29, paragraph 9.
- ↑ Superintensity Ordinance No. 1355 of April 14, 2011 and subsequent amendments by Ordinance No. 119 of December 20, 2011: Regulations of the University and Studies of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure Archive ( Memento of November 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
literature
- About the restorations in the OPD
- Umberto Baldini, P. Dal Poggetto (ed.): Firenze restaura. Il Laboratorio nel suo quarantennio . Florence 1972 (Italian).
- Umberto Baldini (ed.): Metodo e Scienza. Operatività e ricerca nel restauro . Florence 1982 (Italian).
- Antonio Paolucci : Il laboratorio del restauro a Firenze . Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino, 1986 (Italian).
- Cantini Scolastica (Ed.): Capolavori e Restauri . Florence 1986, ISBN 88-7737-011-4 (Italian).
- Giorgio Bonsanti (Ed.): Raffaello e altri. I restauri dell'Opificio . Centro Di, Florence 1990 (Italian).
- Marco Ciatti (Ed.): Problemi di restauro. Riflessioni e ricerche . Edifir, Florence 1992 (Italian).
- Cristina Acidini Luchinat (Ed.): Grandi restauri a Firenze. L'attività dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure. 1975-2000 . Edifir, Florence 2000 (Italian).
- Marco Ciatti, Cecilia Frosinini (ed.): Restauri e ricerche. Dipinti su tela e tavola . Florence 2003 (Italian).
- Lacuna. Riflessioni sulle esperienze dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure . In: Cristina Acidini Luchinat , Fabio Bertelli (eds.): Atti dei convegni del 7 aprile 2002 e del 5 aprile 2003 . Edifir, Florence 2004, p. 15-26 (Italian).
- About the museum
- Annamaria Giusti, Annapaula Pampaloni Martelli (ed.): Il Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure a Firenze . Introduction by Umberto Baldini. Electa, Milan 1978 (Italian).
- Annamaria Giusti: Il nuovo antico museo delle Pietre Dure (= MCM, La Storia delle Cose . No. 29 ). 1995, p. 27-30 (Italian).
- Alessandra Marino: Il museo dell'opificio delle Pietre Dure (= Beni Culturali . No. 3/1995 ). 1995, p. 36-39 (Italian).
- Vittorio Savi: Adolfo Natalini. Natalini Architetti, nuove architetture raccontate . Electa, Milan 1996, p. 166-171 (Italian).
- About the building
- Vincenzio Follini, Modesto Rastrelli: Firenze antica, e moderna illustrata . Ed .: Allegrini et al. tape 3 . Florence 1789, chap. 17 , p. 271-273 (Italian, archive.org ).
- Federico Fantozzi: Nuova guida ovvero descrizione storico artistico critica della città e contorni di Firenze . Ed .: Giuseppe e fratelli Ducci. Florence 1842, p. 162 (Italian, archive.org ).
- Federico Fantozzi: Pianta geometrica della città di Firenze alla proporzione di 1 a 4500 levata dal vero e corredata di storiche annotazioni . Galileiana, Florence 1843, p. 179-180, n.429 (Italian).
- Giuseppe François: Nuova guida della città di Firenze ossia descrizione di tutte le cose che vi si trovano degne d'osservazione, con piante e vedute . Florence 1850, p. 305-306 (Italian, mpg.de ).
- Luigi Passerini: Storia degli stabilimenti di beneficenza e d'istruzione elementare della città di Firenze . Tipografia Le Monnier, Florence 1853, p. 816-823 (Italian).
- Walther Limburger: The Buildings of Florence: Architects, Streets and Squares in alphabetical lists . FA Brockhaus, Lipsia 1910, p. 99 .
- Augusto Garneri: Firenze e dintorni: in giro con un artista. (= Guida ricordo pratica storica critica . Volume IX ). Paravia & C., Turin et al. 1924, p. 223-224 (Italian).
- Ettore Allodoli, Arturo Jahn Rusconi: Firenze e dintorni . Istituto Poligrafico e Libreria dello Stato, Rome 1950, p. 124 (Italian).
- Osanna Fantozzi Micali: Firenze, studi e ricerche sul centro antico, I, L'ampliamento della cattedrale di S. Reparata, le conseguenze sullo sviluppo della città a nord e la formazione della piazza del Duomo e di quella della SS. Annunziata . Ed .: Piero Roselli. tape 57 . Nistri-Lischi Editori, Pisa 1974, p. 94-96 (Italian).
- Piero Bargellini, Ennio Guarnieri: Le strade di Firenze . tape 4 . Bonechi, Florence 1977, p. 47 (Italian).
- Osanna Fantozzi Micali, Piero Roselli: Le soppressioni dei conventi a Firenze. In: Riuso e trasformazioni dal sec. XVIII in poi . Libreria Editrice Fiorentina, Florence 1980, p. 220-221, n.75 (Italian).
- Touring Club Italiano (Ed.): Firenze e provincia . Touring Editore, Milan 2005, p. 365 (Italian).
- Andrea Aleardi, Corrado Marcetti della Fondazione Michelucci, con la collaborazione di Alessandra Vittorini del MiBAC / PaBAAC (Eds.): L'architettura in Toscana dal 1945 ad oggi. Una guida alla selezione delle opere di rilevante interest storico-artistico . FI82. Alinea editrice, Florence 2011, p. 94-95 (Italian).
Related articles
Web links
- Opificio delle pietre dure ( it ) CulturaItalia, individual catalog in the central institute.
- Website of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure ( it )
- Website of the exhibition set up in 1972 on the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the Restoration Cabinet. ( it )
- Associazione Amici dell'Opificio ( it )