Coral Jewellery Museum Museum

The Coral Jewellery Museum in Torre del Greco presents the town’s history and craft of coral and cameo jewellery production that developed around the Bay of Naples. The museum focuses on the techniques, tools and finished works associated with coral carving and jewelry making.

Exhibits typically include finished coral and cameo pieces, examples of manufacturing techniques and historical materials relating to local workshops. The museum highlights the local economic and cultural importance of coral craftsmanship.

Torre del Greco is a coastal town on the Bay of Naples at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, south of the city of Naples. The town has been a center for coral and cameo production since the 18th and 19th centuries and remains known for that artisanal industry.

• Craft tradition: Torre del Greco has a long tradition of coral and cameo carving and remains an active center for the craft.

Torre del Greco and nearby towns are reachable from Naples. From Napoli Centrale take the Circumvesuviana regional train to Torre del Greco station (about 20-30 minutes). Local museums and workshops are usually a short walk from the station-ask the tourist office for the precise location of the coral museum.

• If in Torre del Greco, ask at the municipal tourist office for guided visits-local curators sometimes open archival drawers not on permanent display.
• Look for the craftsmanship details: hand-drilled holes where coralline strands were attached and the tiny 19th-century labels naming coral beds and fishermen's guilds.
• Visit a local coral workshop afterwards; many makers still practice nineteenth-century techniques in the same town.