Tourist informations
Entrance from: Pitti Palace, Piazza Pitti 1.
Opening hours: 8,30AM-1,50PM. Closed on first, third and fifth Monday and second and fourth Sunday in the month.
Admission ticket: Euro 6. It si valid for 3 days and includes entrance to Museum of Porcelains, Costume Gallery, Gardens of Boboli and Bardini Garden.
Opening hours: 8,30AM-1,50PM. Closed on first, third and fifth Monday and second and fourth Sunday in the month.
Admission ticket: Euro 6. It si valid for 3 days and includes entrance to Museum of Porcelains, Costume Gallery, Gardens of Boboli and Bardini Garden.
The collections in the Museum of Silver include not only «silver», but also precious objects of various types and periods, collected and commissioned by the Medici and the Lorraine.
History
The Museum is located at the ground floor of Pitti Palace, in the rooms which in 17th Century belonged to the Summer apartaments of the Medici. It was formed in 1861 from the Savoia kings, when they brought to Florence a wide collection of «ancient silver objects» (hence the Museum's name) from Salzburg; the whole collection was then reorganized by architect Giuseppe Poggi, but the very first beginning of this Museum can be found in the collections begun by Cosimo de' Medici in Palazzo Medici-Riccardi; when the Medici family moved to Pitti Palace these collections were continuously enlarged, and the tradition was carried on by the Lorraine, who merged these collections with those from the Uffizi, with the precious objects exposed in the Bargello Museum and with the jewels of the last Medici duchess, Maria Ludovica.
Today's Museum has been organized and restorated so that visitors can admire not only the collections of the Medici and Lorraine, but also the frescoes and decorations of the rooms.
In the spotlight
In the Museum are exposed not only silver objects, but the whole remainings of the court treasure: jewels, cameos (including the famous one portraying Cosimo I with Eleonora of Toledo and sons, realized between 1557 and 1562 by Giovanni Antonio de' Rossi), crystal and porcelain vases, coral and ivory statues and figures and 18 ancient vases from the personal collection of Lorenzo the Magnificent: they have been restored and further decorated in 15th Century. Among them are Roman and Middle-East vases and some Venetian vases dating to the 14th Century.
Many crystal objects were bought by Cosimo I de' Medici following Benvenuto Cellini's advice; from this period are also several objects realized in the Grand-ducal artisan laboratories, as the Lapis lazuli and gold vase realized by the french goldsmith Billivert on a project by Bernardo Buontalenti.
Among the various collections are also to be named the Ivory obects brought by Prince Matthias de' Medici in 17th Century from Germany, the Collection of jewels and cameos by Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (most of them are from 18th Century, but there are also many ancient Roman objects) and the Precious objects brought to Palazzo Pitti from Ferdinando III of Lorraine at the beginning of 19th Century (including gold jugs and plates, enamelled silver jugs).
In the rooms is also shown furniture from the 16th to 17th Century.
