The museum’s Beauty Room is dedicated to jewels that were meant to be adorned, and only contains necklaces. Photos by Cosmo Laera; courtesy Museo del Gioiello.

The Museo del Gioiello occupies 410 square meters of the historic, 16th-century Basilica Palladiana.

BY KAREN AANONSEN

Vicenza has long been at the center of Italy’s gold and jewelry industries. So it only makes sense that the city would play host to the country’s first museum dedicated exclusively to baubles. The Museo del Gioiello — which opened its dazzling doors in December and had its visitor total hit five digits after just five months — boasts a permanent collection of about 400 jewels from such boldfaced names at Chanel and Van Cleef & Arpels. These treasures are housed on the museum’s upper floor, divided amongst nine themed rooms: Beauty, Function, Magic, Symbol, Art, Fashion, Design, Icons, and Future. Meanwhile, the ground floor plays host to a bookshop as well as a temporary exhibition space. From September 5 to January 7, that transitional area will be occupied by “Gioielli per la Pace,” a display of international jewelry designers’s interpretations of peace.

—August 2015

While visitors can currently get up close and personal with an iconic Van Cleef & Arpels zipper necklace, the Museo del Gioiello plans to rotate its jewels every two years.