- Vicenza’s Jewellery Museum is now open to the public, featuring a new exhibition curated by Paola Venturelli, running until 2027.
- An itinerary from 5 BC to the 21st century. Artefacts and works of art from 13 Museums and Foundations
Art, expertise, material and creativity merge into one great story: Italian jewellery. The Vicenza Jewellery Museum tells the story through the new “Jewellery – Italy. Material Technique Art. Between Ancient and Modern” exhibition, devised and curated by internationally-renowned scholar, Paola Venturelli. The exhibition, which opens to the public today, 28th November, will be available to visitors until the end of 2027.
Hosted inside the Basilica Palladiana , a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994, it marks the start of a new exhibition cycle for the Museum – the first in Italy and one of only a few in the world dedicated exclusively to the art of jewellery.
Of extraordinary importance due to the quality and iconic charm of the works on display and prestigious collaborations with Museums and Foundations, the exhibition enhances the exceptional nature of Italian jewellery in a continuous story that unfolds in eleven stages inside the Museum’s six rooms. A journey that spans more than two millennia of history — from 5th century BC to the early 21st century—to reveal how art, technique and material merge in timeless masterpieces. The over 150 works displayed, including single jewels and sets, as well as everyday objects such as handbags, cosmetic bags, precious containers, three paintings and two Apulian ceramics from 330-310 BC, set the pace of this chronological and thematic journey. The materials, gold, coral, semiprecious stones, glass, micromosaic, gems and unconventional materials, together with manufacturing techniques, convey the expressive plurality of Italian jewellery and its ability to combine craftsmanship, inventiveness and innovation. Technical and artistic perfection unfolds before the eyes of the visitor: extremely difficult Etruscan granulation is given new life in a set from the second half of the twentieth century, stimulating innovative interpretations in a more recent work.
Goldsmith art and figurative arts
Following the exhibition itinerary, the visitor will see a constant dialogue between goldsmith art and figurative arts: Pompeian wall paintings inspire coral craftsmen, a lava stone brooch is incited by the colossal marble bust of Jupiter Serapis from 2nd-3rd AD in the Vatican Museums, while the plan of “La Rotonda”, the famous Palladian villa just outside Vicenza, is honoured in a pendant. The shell cameos of a sumptuous parure refer to famous carvings by Antonio Pichler and Antonio Berini, and a blood jasper cameo, traced back to Valerio Belli, famous goldsmith, master of glyptics and the pride of Renaissance Vicenza.
Two special sections
The exhibition is further enriched by two special sections. The first is dedicated to Vicenza. Between Ancient and Modern, the exhibition offers the most relevant works in the area’s goldsmith history. These include three pieces of extraordinary value: a ring and a cross from the Lombard era, an unprecedented and highly valuable gold votive crown with gems and cameos, and a jewelled collar with pendant donated in 1604 by the noble Caldogno family from Vicenza.
The second special section is Artist and Designer Jewellery. Here contaminations between contemporary art and jewellery from Futurism to Kinetic Art are explored with protagonists from the School of Padua and the Marche. Sketches, drawings and prototypes testify to the creative process that leads from the design to the product.
To underline the value of craftsmanship and innovation in goldsmith art, a small section on the ground floor displays madreforme moulds and several models for bracelets, chains and pendants from the Angelo Tovo company in Creazzo, which closed in 2005 after about fifty years of activity. The company produced moulds and shears for jewellery factories in the area.
The new exhibition: vision and values
The 2025-2027 biennial exhibition originates from extraordinary collaboration with museums and foundations throughout Italy, particularly with Vicenza’s museums, establishing a profound dialogue with the city and the local territory. The exhibition itinerary, divided into eleven chronological and thematic stages, aims to tell the story of the excellence of Italian jewellery. Approximately 150 works, from ancient to contemporary creations, highlight the materials, techniques and artisanal knowledge that constitute a fundamental element of our material culture. We want people to realize that jewellery is much more than an ornament: it is memory, narration and a bridge between past, present and future. – Paola Venturelli, curator of the Jewellery Museum
The Jewellery Museum was created with the goal of enhancing the goldsmithing tradition of excellence in the Vicenza production district, and with it, one of the highest expressions of Made in Italy, combining tradition and innovation, memory and contemporaneity. Through the works and techniques showcased in the new exhibition, and thanks to collaborations with prestigious cultural institutions, museums, and foundations, initiated with foresight by Paola Venturelli, we are able to represent the cultural and symbolic richness of jewellery. We want the museum to be accessible to everyone, open to dialogue with the local community, and to designers, craftsmen, companies, scholars, and enthusiasts of all ages, offering a wide range of workshops, school activities, and themed events to engage and involve all visitors. – Michela Amenduni, Managing Director of the Jewellery Museum
Paola Venturelli
Art historian, she specializes in goldsmithing, jewellery history, collecting and fashion with a predilection for the Italian context. From these perspectives, she also approached Leonardo da Vinci in a completely new way. She has published monographic volumes, papers for Italian and international conferences, essays, and articles in many different books and in specialized journals and sits on Scientific Committees of prestigious exhibitions, both in Italy and abroad. She has organized and curated exhibitions, setting up and studying important museum collections. She has alternated these activities with university teaching. She is a consultant for various museum institutions, including the Vatican Museums. Senior Curator of the Rubelli Foundation (Venice), she is Scientific Director of the Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation (Florence). Since 2024 she has been the Curator at the Vicenza Jewellery Museum.
The scientific committee comprises Caterina Ascione, Maria Concetta di Natale, Federica Giacobello, Roberta Piccinelli
Participating Museums and Foundations
The ‘Massimo Pallottino’ National Archaeological Museum, Melfi. The National Archaeological Museum, Taranto. The Ascione Coral Museum, Naples. Palazzo Chiericati Civic Museum, Vicenza. ‘Pietro G. Nonis’ Diocesan Museum, Vicenza. Natural Archaeological Museum, Vicenza. ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ National Science and Technology Museum, Milan. The Risorgimento Museum – Palazzo Moriggia, Milan. UnoAerre Industries Historical Museum, Arezzo. Palazzo d’Arco Museum and Foundation, Mantua. Fabriano and Cupramontana Cassa di Risparmio Foundation. Giacomo Manzù Foundation. Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation.
The Vicenza Jewellery Museum
The first museum in Italy and one of only a few in the world dedicated exclusively to jewellery art, the Vicenza Jewellery Museum is a permanent exhibition area located inside the Basilica Palladiana, a UNESCO heritage site, in the heart of the city’s historic centre. Opened in 2014, it was promoted by Italian Exhibition Group S.p.A. and, since 2025, has been managed by Vicenza Holding S.p.A., which represents Vicenza Municipality, the Province of Vicenza and the Vicenza Chamber of Commerce, as part of the trade show company that organizes Vicenzaoro, the international jewellery show.
USEFUL INFORMATION
The Jewellery Museum is located inside the Basilica Palladiana, in Piazza dei Signori, no. 44, Vicenza. It is part of the museum and monumental location circuit in the historic centre. It is included in the VICENZA GOLD CARD (valid for 12 days from the date of purchase for 11 sites at a cost of €22, €17 reduced, €26 Family); VICENZA SILVER CARD (valid 8 days from the date of purchase for 4 sites chosen from the 11 on the circuit at the price of €16, reduced €14). Consorzio Vicenza è, which already coordinates the city’s tourist sites, collaborates in the operational management of the ticket office and bookshop.
The entry fee is €10 with reductions for residents, families, students and schools. To find out more about discounts and free offers: www.museodelgioiello.it.
Opening times: from Tuesday to Friday, 9 am – 1 pm and 3 pm – 6 pm, Saturday and Sunday, 9 am – 6 pm.
To find out more about the calendar of events and further information, please see the Museum’s website and social media channels Facebook and Instagram.
Dating to the period of Lombard occupation in Vicenza, this piece belongs to a well-known class of Lombard gold rings, recognizable for their beaded border and four small spheres connecting the bezel to the hoop. Unknown in Lombard craftsmanship before the invasion of Italy in 568, only about ten examples of this type are known across the Italian peninsula. The glass-paste gem, crafted in Roman times and imitating a multicoloured stratified stone, reflects a production trend popular from the late 2nd to early 1st century BC and continuing through the Augustan age. It simulates natural multi-layered stones.
This refined collar was offered as a votive gift to the shrine of the Madonna dei Miracoli in Lonigo (Vicenza). Its donors, Marcantonio and Scipione Caldogno, are named in the inscription engraved in capital letters around the pendant featuring the family coat of arms—one of the oldest noble lineages in Vicenza. Coral connects northern and southern Italy, with fishing, carving, and trade centres in Liguria, Sicily, Campania, Tuscany, Sardinia, and major tourist regions such as Abruzzo and Lazio. In the early 19th century, Torre del Greco in Campania rose to prominence, transitioning from coral harvesting to production and quickly entering international markets.
The coral elements were probably purchased in the Vesuvian area and later mounted in 1840 by the St. Petersburg jeweller Wilhelm Kleiberg—an example of a well-documented practice also involving French, English, and Northern European goldsmiths.
Likely Melfi (Italy) area manufacture. Hair fasteners. Gold. 5th century BC. 3.4 × 5.9 cm (Ø); 3.2 × 5.9 cm (Ø). Melfi (Potenza), Museo Archeologico Nazionale “Massimo Pallottino”.
Produced locally, these cylindrical gold-sheet fasteners feature a rim soldered to one end, forming a wide horizontal border. Hair was wrapped around the cylinder, leaving only the ring visible. They come from Chiuchiari, near Melfi—an important Daunian settlement with major burials.
Also visible in the same photograph:
Apulian red-figure Lebes gamikos. 330–310 BC, Workshop of the Baltimore Painter. Wheel-thrown clay, red-figure decoration. H. 16.5 cm; rim Ø 8.5 cm; foot Ø 7 cm. Collection Intesa Sanpaolo, Inv. 441.
The scenes on both sides form a continuous narrative: a young woman seated on a rock dedicates herself to Eros through gift exchange—offerings on a large tray, a wreath in her fingers—while Eros reciprocates with a box of cosmetics and jewellery and a mirror, tools of beautification and seduction. The ivy leaf he holds alludes to Dionysian cults and hopes for an afterlife. Winged Eros, depicted as a youthful hermaphrodite symbolizing the union of male and female, wears a rich parure matched by that of the woman, who also bears a shoulder-slung necklace and armlets on her thigh. Through the erotic encounter he enacts his dynamis, his generative power.
The emotional tone of the scene perfectly suits the lebes gamikos, a vessel used for ritual bridal baths.
Necklace with beads and clasp, Tarantine manufacture. 4th–3rd century BC. Gold, 18 cm. Museo Archeologico Nazionale MarTA.
A type featuring tubular and biconical beads, widely attested in the Hellenistic age but rarely in Taranto—despite the city’s renowned goldworking tradition. Local finds are usually short, intended not to encircle the neck but to be pinned directly to clothing. In both short and true necklaces, craftsmanship focuses most on the clasp, worn on the chest.
Articles about IEG:
https://gem-spectrum.com/?s=IEG
