Ginori Museum

The initial core of the museum of Doccia is made of pieces collected in the 18th century by the founder of the manufacture, marquis Carlo Ginori; added to these were the sets created over the centuries for illustrious clients: the Hapsburgs of Austria, Napoleon’s sister Elisa Bonaparte, the House of Savoy, the Rothschilds.

The museum bears witness to the moment when porcelain meets art, reaching beyond the limited field of dishware, however valuable. But it also tells the artistic, social and economic history of the oldest porcelain manufacture still active in Italy.
The displayed pieces include from the first prototypes to rococo shapes, from Empire-style objects to richly decorated models of the second half of the 19th century up to the stylised ones, designed by Giò Ponti who was the artistic director from 1923 to 1930.

Interesting are the late Baroque period waxworks, made by sculptors who worked for the Medici Grand Dukes, and bought by Count Ginori together with the models, to be used as sketches and models for statues and porcelain ensembles in the wake of the great sculptors of the past.

The Museum was closed in 2014, following the bankruptcy of the Richard Ginori company; it was recently bought by the Italian State, which promoted the creation of the Fondazione Museo Archivio della Richard Ginori Manifattura di Doccia. The museum section is undergoing refurbishment and the building housing it will be restored: reopening of the Ginori Museum is planned for 2025.

From May 2022 it is possible to access the garden in front of the Museum, a green area that has been returned to the community, open every day from 8:30am to 7:30pm (closed in August).