I’m visiting Rome for a week and was wondering if anyone has any jewelry-related must-see recommendations? Are there are any studios you’ve visited, museums with a great jewelry section, or any sort of gemological museums you’d recommend?
Thought I’d ask in case any fellow travel-loving jewelers had any great experiences there. Thanks so much!
Sara
Sara, unfortunately I have found that no one volunteers for you to visit their studio. You will probably get some recommendations about museums, etc.
Hi Sara,
Italians are generally very friendly to tourists and very social people. On a trip to Italy a couple of years ago I went to Scanno on a wild hare because I knew that they were known for their jewelry. I stayed in a neighboring town and mentioned to my airbnb host that I wanted to see jewelry in Scanno and he offered to take me to the shop of a friend. I got to see the workshop and left with a souvenir piece of lapis out of the jeweler’s collection. They were very hospitable. In Orvieto I was looking in the window of a shop when the saleslady came out and we discussed jewelry and gemstones and whether I might provide some to the jeweler. I didn’t ask and I’m not sure the jeweler was in, but I probably could have gotten an invitation to see the workshop. All that said, I’d say the workshop in Scanno was like a lot of workshops over here…jeweler’s bench, torch, hand tools. I did not think to ask detailed questions about filigree, which is Scanno’s trademark jewelry, which people in the know evidently come from all over to buy. I’m sure that you can find some Rome landmark makers on line and you might find that an email or even a walk-in visit would result in an invitation to see the workshop. especially if you mentioned that you were writing for a blog about your trip. All makers love publicity. I’m sure that if you ask around in jewelry stores, etc., somebody knows somebody and you may well be able to wrangle some invitations. It helps to know some Italian, but isn’t absolutely necessary. Good luck! -royjohn
As a followup, let me say that I googled “jewelry workshops in Rome” and came up with some schools which would let you visit because they are always seeking students. I clicked on Accademia Delle Arte Orafi and at the bottom of that page found several similar sites to investigate…so a place to start there. Some of these workshops teach microscope stone setting, so they might be interesting to check out. -royjohn
Thank you so, so much for all this info! I had to re-schedule the trip, but that means I have a lot more time to find more places to visit!