OPD

Opificio delle Pietre Dure e Laboratori di Restauro

The Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD) is an autonomous Institute of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage, whose function is research and training activities in the field of conservation of works of art. The Institute was initially established at the desire of Ferdinando I de' Medici for the production and workmanship of semiprecious stone furnishings; in the late 19th century, the Opificio began to transform its artistic activities into conservation practice, first on artefacts produced throughout its centuries-old history and later on analogous materials (stonework, mosaics, etc.). Following the 1975 law establishing the Ministry for Cultural Heritage, all of the Florentine state restoration laboratories converged in the historic Opificio, which had taken on new importance after the 1966 catastrophic floods. OPD is the seat of one of the Italian state conservation schools, of a museum displaying samples of its artistic semiprecious stone production, a scientific laboratory for diagnostics and research, a highly specialised library in the sphere of conservation, extremely rich archives documenting conservation projects, a research centre and a public climatology service. It is one of the largest institutions in Europe in this field, having at its disposal an interdisciplinary team of conservators, art historians, archaeologists, architects, scientific experts and documentalists. (extracted from website)

Web Address	http://www.opificiodellepietredure.it/
Postal Address	Opificio delle Pietre Dure e Laboratori di Restauro Via Alfani 78 - 50125 Firenze Italy
Phone	(+39) 55 -26511
Fax	(+39) 55 - 287123
Contact	opd@beniculturali.it
Information Online	Bibliographic citations Courses / workshops Publishes journal Archived information
Searchable	No
Categories	Research / training
Website Languages	English Italian

Comments

Publishes an annual review OPD Restauro; Indexes are available online 1986-2000

Summaries of research reports are available online