We wanted to get onto Venice but Kini wanted to visit the Opificio delle pietra dure. I had no idea of what it was but I thought it was a display of various polished rocks; boy was I wrong! Wikipedia says:
"Pietra Dura is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images. It is considered a decorative art. The stonework, after the work is assembled loosely, is glued stone-by-stone to a substrate after having previously been "sliced and cut in different shape sections; and then assembled together so precisely that the contact between each section was practically invisible".
The galleries were filled with all finds of examples of this artform.
Unless you look closely, you have no real idea how delicate these stone tiles are and how they fit so precisely together. The shading is from the stones themselves. The artists collect the stones from all over Italy and carefully prepare them to use in their work. At first I didn't quite see this. I am sort of a giddy-up type tourist. But Kini was taking so long that I sat waiting for her at the exit. Next to was a little table and I began to study it closely. This next photo is almost actual size.
I took many photos but the light was not great.
Just imagine all the different types of stone in this nearly scaled size image.
I must admit I was absolutely amazed by this artform. I hope that you might enjoy these especially if you haven't seen these before. After visiting the museum we stumbled onto a shop where we met artists who where producing pietra dura.
I was not allowed to take any photos of their work, but it rivals much of the work we have seen in the museums. There are several good websites if you would like to see more of this artform.