Vicenza Jewellery Museum | New Exhibition Inaugurated: “Jewellery – Italy. Material Technique Art. Between Ancient And Modern”

• 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 

Vicenza (Italy), November – 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 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.