History of Montelupo Fiorentino Ceramics Museum

 The birth of the Museum
The local administration of Montelupo undertook to provide a prestigious site for the archaeological heritage of the community, which was in the process of developing, deciding eventually to transform the Town Hall, the historical “Palazzo del Podestà”.
On the 3rd of July, 1983, came the inauguration of the “Museum of Ceramics and of the Local Area”, which was later called the “Montelupo Museum of Archaeology and Ceramics”.

 

The development
In January, 1985, the first part of the Museum was opened to the public. That part was dedicated to the archaeology of the neighbouring area, with a section on Prehistory, planned and designed in collaboration with the University of Siena.
In 1989, the Museum began arranging the displays according to the present layout:
Local archaeology
Education area
Donations gallery
History of Montelupo ceramics
In 1993, the top floor of the building was opened to the public, this being dedicated to the History of Montelupo Ceramics.

At the same time as the growth of these exhibition galleries, a nearby historical building was being restored, and this provided space for:
- the administrative offices of the Museum
- the workshop for restoration
- the video lab
- the photography lab
- the library
- the photographic library
A relatively modern building, also nearby, has been restored and turned into an “Operations Centre for Archaeological Excavations”, which houses the following:
- the area dedicated to the cleaning and marking of the finds
- the main gallery, for the reconstruction of ceramic fragments, dedicated to Guido Antonini, one of the founders of the “Archaeological Group of Montelupo”
- the storage area for excavation tools and equipment
- the offices of the “Archaeological Group of Montelupo”

 

In the last few years, the Museum has concentrated its efforts on the preparation of outdoor areas, and on the acquisition of the neighbouring “Alderighi Furnace”, a complex of great interest in the field of industrial archaeology. The Furnace buildings have been largely restored and provide activity rooms, which are used every year by thousands of children. The Furnace itself, in an optimal state of preservation, represents an essential complementary element to the museum visit, allowing visitors to see inside a typical ceramics furnace of the Montelupo region. The possibility has not been excluded of restoring a working kiln, at least in part, for activities in Experimental Archaeology.

The future
The history of the Montelupo Museum is still evolving. The local authorities of Montelupo has decided to invest new resources to move the Museum to a new and more spacious site.
The focus is on a town building which houses the historical site of the elementary school “Enrico Corradini”, recently moved to a new and more functional site.
The opening of the new building for the Montelupo Museum of Ceramics is planned for 2008.

 

In 2007 the archaeological collections are moved into the new Montelupo Archeological Museum