This museum is housed in the Casino del Cavaliere mansion, built in the XVII century on the top of a hill, offering a magnificent view of the famous Boboli Gardens. It was opened in 1973, and its collections mostly consist of porcelain tableware that once belonged to the royal dynasties that ruled Tuscany: the Medici, the Lorraine dukes, and the House of Savoy.
All the museum exhibits are divided by different eras, countries, and manufacturers. Several porcelain items created at the Doccia manufactory are on display - they were used daily by grand ducal families during breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Some pieces were also produced in Naples.
Among the exhibits there are also gifts from Napoleon Bonaparte to his sister Elisa Baciocchi, who in the XIX century was the Grand Duchess of Tuscany. These are beautiful vases and a set of tableware created at the Sevres manufactory. At that time, porcelain was only just beginning to be produced in Europe; before that, it had been made only in China.
The oldest exhibits in the museum are considered to be those that belonged to Gian Gastone - the last grand duke of the Medici dynasty. He lived in the late XVII - early XVIII centuries.
