Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure

Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure

Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure
4.5
8:15 AM - 2:00 PM
Monday
8:15 AM - 2:00 PM
Tuesday
8:15 AM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday
8:15 AM - 2:00 PM
Thursday
8:15 AM - 2:00 PM
Friday
8:15 AM - 2:00 PM
Saturday
8:15 AM - 2:00 PM
About
Suggested duration
1-2 hours
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Admission tickets
from $53.56
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Neighborhood: Florence Historic Center
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  • Noraatc
    Sudbury, Massachusetts34,872 contributions
    A little treasure near Piazza San Marco
    I was a little overwhelmed with all the religious art, so little Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure was a much needed change. This wonderful museum is free with the Uffizi ticket. This is the place where you can see how the beautiful mosaics of the inlaid marble walls in the Cappella di Medici were created. It was astounding to find out how many types of marble and semiprecious stones were used to produce those intricate patterns on the walls of the Cappella dei Principi. The process of creating mosaics is thoroughly explained in the very informative short documentary on the second floor. I was completely alone in this treasure of a museum, I doubt tourists even know about it.
    Visited December 2022
    Traveled solo
    Written December 21, 2022
  • Ellen W
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania178 contributions
    Not to be missed gem in Florence
    If you buy a 5-day pass to the Uffizi (and I highly recommend it), your pass also includes this often ignored gem of a museum (pun intended). Pietra Dura (hard stone) is the art of precision cutting semi-precious stones and fitting the pieces together to form patterns and images. The museum displays framed panels, furniture, and other decorative objects. And they are spectacular! Upstairs is a recreation of a workshop with workers’ stations, tools, hundreds of slices of stone specimens, and an excellent video explaining the process of creating these intricate and wondrous objects. This museum is just around the corner from the Accademia Galleries, so if you’re going to see David, stop by here too.
    Visited June 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written June 22, 2023
  • George S
    Miami Beach, Florida1,104 contributions
    Great little museum
    A great little museum devoted to mosaics and inlaid stonework of marble and semi-precious stones. I know it is quirky and sounds peculiar but the stoneworks are beautiful and very distinct. It is near the San Marco and the Accademia museums. The first floor has many exhibits while the second has a nice video explaining the various artistic techniques. Great find! BTW, admission is free of you have your Uffizi ticket.
    Visited May 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written July 15, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions

4.5
354 reviews
Excellent
260
Very good
82
Average
11
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1

BrianSpence
Belfast, UK41 contributions
Jul 2022 • Family
We had entrance included in Uffizi tickets but actually well worth the modest entrance price.

Focussed on the art of crafting stone inlays.

Beautiful exhibits and an incredible video.

Only quibble would be lack of multi lingual signage.
Written July 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Depense E
Singapore, Singapore3 contributions
Aug 2022
A museum about mosaic 'paintings'.
At first I did not caught what it was as the result seems to be a super detailed and nice acrylic painting. This is actually small pieces of gems or semi precious stones carefully choosen for there color and degradé and carved one by one, assembled.... the underlying workload, care and patience to create those artifacts are absolutely crazy.

Though the security is a little bit too much on the edge.
Written August 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

George S
Miami Beach, FL1,104 contributions
May 2023 • Family
A great little museum devoted to mosaics and inlaid stonework of marble and semi-precious stones. I know it is quirky and sounds peculiar but the stoneworks are beautiful and very distinct. It is near the San Marco and the Accademia museums. The first floor has many exhibits while the second has a nice video explaining the various artistic techniques. Great find! BTW, admission is free of you have your Uffizi ticket.
Written July 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Julie W
Norwich, UK61 contributions
Sep 2020
This is well worth a visit. A small museum with beautiful exhibits. An art which is so amazing. Unfortunately due to the circumstances we are in at the moment there was no video presentation or any demonstrations which was a shame, but we did pop in a shop close by and they did have a video of how these pieces are put together, incredible.
Written September 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

bew48
Toronto, Canada37 contributions
Mar 2012 • Couples
This MUSEUM OF PRECIOUS STONES was empty when we arrived, a welcome experience after fighting throngs of tourists at the Uffizi, the Pitti, etc etc. Semi precious stones, marble, alabaster, etc are the materials that are used for inlaid furniture, landscapes and portraits. Upstairs there is a workshop, (from the 16th century) no longer in use, but it is fascinating to see how the painstaking process is applied.
We spent an hour there, had a gelato in a cafe nearby and then went to the Academia that is located just around the corner.
There are descriptions in English and the fee is 4 euros.
Time well spent!!!!!!
Written April 15, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Perry Grinate
Ashby de la Zouch, UK724 contributions
Feb 2020
Some great pietra dura stuff to see, and best of all a video showing the extraordinary amount of time it takes to create a table top out of semi-precious stones. I got in here with my three day ticket which also covered Palas Pitti, Boboli Gardens and the Uffizi
Written February 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Richard G
San Antonio, TX282 contributions
Oct 2019
This great little museum tells the story of the craft of pierre dure-of inlaid pictures with varied stones precisely cut, polished, and placed to make fantastic pictures, table tops, etc.There are laminated sheets for each of the rooms labeling and explaining the exhibits in a variety of languages. The finished inlaid products are fantastic-some going back hundreds of years. And to think a short walk away are crowds lining up to see the David, not even knowing that this little museum is something they could enjoy after the David without any wait to enter. Many first time visitors to Florence would want to visit many other places other than this, but for a repeat tourist, this museum would be an excellent choice to spend a couple of fantastic hours.
Written December 1, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

suzy2wanda
Lompoc, CA5 contributions
Jun 2017
If you're looking for something truly Italian, off-the-beaten-path, or look beyond the typical traveler's must-see list, check out the Museum of Hard Rocks. Actually, it's about semi-precious stone, and it's both a museum and resource for restoration of Italy's vast number of intarsia and stone mosaics. We were humbled with the artisanship, craftsmanship, and historical context as we saw a zillion unique and stunning pieces! It was hard to believe some of the paintings were actually stone. I believe this workshop has been here for several hundred years. The pieces keep flowing from one beautiful salon room to the next. In the last half-dozen rooms I easily imagined Florentine society attending galas here. For mobility impaired folk, it's worth trudging upstairs to see the vast displays of different types of stone and all of the traditional-but-still-useful tools made for the stoneworking trade. Another note for the mobility impaired, there were just enough seating opportunities in the museum to remain comfortable, a good thing because we spent many hours here with the fascinating, beautiful displays. We were disappointed in the gift shop; it was okay but we would've spent some $$ to take home a small sample of what we saw. We came by taxi, spent the morning here, had lunch (walk less than a block), then returned to the hotel via taxi. Months have passed since our visit, but the memory of this museum keeps it at the top of our "what-did-you-like-best" list. This museum doesn't have hordes of tourists. The guards were a little strict when I kept sitting down, but relaxed when they saw I was quiet, respectful, and truly in need to sit. Kids would enjoy this one too, but might rush through or get antsy if they had to linger. This is a peaceful, quiet museum and we loved it, learned a lot, and came away with a lasting sense of, "that's Flore
Written February 1, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dumdoc
Eagle, ID154 contributions
Feb 2016 • Family
This museum is small and can be as quick as you like. It is extremely close to the Accademia, so it can easily take less than an hour of your day including the time it takes to get there if you are going to see the David.
There are so many beautiful things in Florence, but this has mosaics made of semi-precious stones that redefine what you can imagine a mosaic to be like. Some look like paintings until you look at them from inches away. We loved all of the art museums we visited in Florence, but this one was in the top 2-3 in terms of its impact per minute.
Written January 13, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

luvroma2
Reading, PA2,028 contributions
Oct 2015 • Couples
I love pietre dure. It is simply fascinating the way these craftsmen can use marble and stone to create such beautiful images. I collect pietre dure earrings which can in no way hold a candle to the magnificent pieces which are on display in this museum. This museum is not for everyone, but if you have any interest in pietre dure, this is a "must see" museum.
Written October 20, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure

Museo Opificio delle Pietre Dure admission prices can vary. Entrance tickets currently cost $53.38, while a popular guided tour starts around $33.36 per person.

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