Special openings of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure

The Museo dell’Opificio delle Pietre Dure, a small museum rich in history and art,  is one of the museums not to be missed, because here you can discover and admire the art of Florentine “commisso”.
The Museo dell’Opificio, opened in 1882, is a branch of the art workshop that works hard semi-precious stones, founded in 1588 by Grand Duke Ferdinand I of the Medici. Its collections include works of great refinement that cover the entire manufacturing activity that lasted three centuries.
The processing of Florentine “commisso”  involves the creation of a drawing on cardboard provided by an artist, for which a careful selection of semiprecious stones is then made, in order to render the various tones, shades and chiaroscuro as faithfully as possible. Among the materials used are colored granite, porphyry, lapis lazuli, Sicilian jasper, as well as various marbles. Unlike mosaic, the "commesso" doesn’t use geometric tiles, but cuts pieces, chosen for color, opacity, brightness and shades of the veins, creating a figurative design. With this technique, works of extraordinary value were created, from furniture to various objects, up to perfect copies of paintings to hang, which today enrich museums around the world, testifying to the genius and technique of Florentine artisans.

And the Museum extends its opening time with a rich program of special openings to allow greater enjoyment of its works. 
Dates and times:

• Special evening openings every Friday from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM (last admission at 10:30 PM) on the following dates: June 6, 13, 20, 27; July 4, 11, 18, 25; August 1, 29; September 5.
• Special afternoon openings every Thursday from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM (last admission at 5:30 PM) on the following dates: September 4, 11, 18, 25; October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; November 6, 13.

The special afternoon openings will be enriched by a series of musical concerts organized in collaboration with the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory starting in September.
In addition, during the special openings that will be held on Thursday afternoons, from September to mid-November, free guided tours will be organized (for groups of about 20 people, departing approximately every hour, without reservation) conducted by professionals who work in the Institute and who will illustrate to visitors the works exhibited in the Museum, testimony to the tradition of “commesso” in semiprecious stones and the history of the Opificio.