From 22 November 2024 to 24 February 2025, the Stefano Bardini Museum of Florence hosts the exhibition Officina Bardini. L’arte del legno (‘The Bardini Workshop: The Art of Wood’). This is a fascinating journey through the artisanal tradition of wood that characterised the workshops led by Stefano Bardini, the so-called ‘prince of antiquarians’, and his son Ugo from the late nineteenth to the first half of the twentieth century.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Municipality of Florence – Florence World Heritage and Relations with UNESCO Office, together with MUS.E, the Regional Directorate of National Museums of Tuscany of the Ministry of Culture – Gallery of Palazzo Mozzi Bardini, with the collaboration of the University of Florence. It is curated by Giulia Coco and Marco Mozzo with specialist consultation from Simone Chiarugi and organised by Carlo Francini and Valentina Zucchi, who coordinated the research behind the project together with the curators. Realised with the support of the Ministry of Tourism in the framework of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network Fund, the exhibition offers visitors a unique look at the legacy of the great antiquarian Stefano Bardini.

The exhibition is the second project of its kind dedicated to the famous antiquarian, following the event organised in 2022 for the hundredth anniversary of his death. The current display focuses on the artisanal expertise and production that made the Bardini workshops famous, as they became true centres of excellence in working and restoring wood. Here period objects and accessories were created and restored, pieces which fascinated international patrons attracted to the dream of the Italian Renaissance.

In this exhibition, a unique selection of tools, drawings and original objects from the collections of Palazzo Mozzi Bardini engage in dialogue with the civic collections of the Stefano Bardini Museum. The most important pieces include refined wooden inlays, front panels of chests dating to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, paper patterns, and furnishings and single items produced to recreate the Renaissance style. Also on display is the original workbench of the workshops, which has been restored for the occasion. By means of an evocative reconstruction of the Bardini carpentry shop, visitors will have the opportunity of experiencing the atmosphere of these historic workshops. The exhibition further hosts the collection of tools which belonged to the Florentine cabinet maker and restorer Orlando Chiarugi, founder of the historic family workshop, which is still active today in the field of wood restoration.

The rich collection of objects and works of art in wood conserved at Palazzo Mozzi indeed includes an important core of objects which the Bardini workshops either restored or produced in great quantities – furniture, chairs, hall tables and other accessories, in addition to decorated frames, friezes and corner pieces of restored chests. Whether restored, integrated or made new according to the style of that period, this production fully satisfied the demand of wealthy international clients who were fascinated by the art of the Italian Renaissance and who wished to recreate the atmosphere of past times through objects, furnishings and costumes.

An innovative feature of the exhibition is represented by the collaboration with the European Center for Restoration. Under the guidance of Simone Beneforti, the Center’s students restored the front panels of the Renaissance chests on display. Thanks to their efforts, visitors will get an up-close look at the restoration techniques that characterise this noble tradition.

Guided tours