Meeting with Florentine artisans

A man who works with his hands is a worker; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands, his brain, and his heart is an artist.
St. Francis of Assisi

Your official guide brings you “Florentine savoir-faire”: meeting Florentine artisans

This tour is designed for travellers who wish to gain insight into the production of Florentine artisans and discover an authentic side of the city’s history. With your private English-speaking guide you will have the opportunity to visit Florentine artisans and learn about their passion. For several centuries Florence has been the capital of handicrafts, and even today you only need to walk through the historic center to discover the many craft stores. The “workshops” are still active and numerous. Artisans use the techniques and tools of yesteryear, and thanks to these small workshops Florence retains its traditional know-how. Leatherworkers, goldsmiths, shoemakers, master perfumers have long been making original and unique artifacts.

Here are some ideas for meetings during your visit!

GUIDED TOUR TO A FIORENTINE COMMERCE LABORATORY: What patience!

In contrast to the traditional mosaic that uses small tiles (called tesserae), “Fla inlay stonework” (or “Florentine mosaic”) employs larger tiles and is chosen for their shape, color, opacity, luster and shades of their grain to create the final design. They thus create works of art for furniture, paintings, or various objects, up to perfect copies of paintings. The work of the Florentine “commesso” still makes the reputation of Florentine artists, in all museums. In the city still, only three workshops perpetuate this old technique. The workshop we will visit is not far from the Pitti Palace, the royal residence of the Medici family. To better understand and appreciate the uniqueness of this ancient technique, I suggest visiting the Medici Chapels at the Church of San Lorenzo or the Palatina Gallery at the Pitti Palace. The history of stonemasonry in Florence is closely linked to that of the Medici family.

Collectors of hard stone objects since the 15th century, the Medici family in the following century continued to cultivate a passion for this art form until a factory dedicated to it was created in 1588.

Collectors of hard stone objects since the 15th century, the Medici family in the following century continued to cultivate a passion for this art form until a factory dedicated to it was created in 1588. It was Ferdinando I de’ Medici himself who gave a stable order to the various workshops serving the Grand Dukes, bringing them together in the Galleria delle Opere, later known as the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. The Gallery’s first artistic and financial commitment was aimed at a project that was at least ambitious: the covering in polychrome stones of the grandiose family mausoleum at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, which was to house the tombs of the Medici dynasty and whose construction lasted more than two hundred and fifty years. The new Grand Duke also did his utmost to ensure that the court workshop’s artistic supremacy was  recognized throughout Europe thanks to its sophisticated creations. The technical progress of the Florentine commesso at the end of the sixteenth century reached lofty heights: from geometric compositions in semi-precious stones to abstract ornaments in soft stones, typical of Roman marquetry, there was a shift to complex pictorial themes. The Florentine mosaic aspired to become a “painting on stone”, exploiting the infinite possibilities of the natural palette of the stones and the skillful precision of the craftsmen in cutting the stone sections. In 1737, with the extinction of the Medici dynasty, the Grand Duchy was ruled by the Habsburg-Lorraine. The Lorraine period, which lasted until 1859, saw the artistic fortunes of the Manifattura and its works continue, thanks to the production of prestigious artistic objects, destined to furnish grand-ducal residences or to be given as gifts to the greatest throughout Europe.

GUIDED TOUR TO A FIORENTINE PAPER LABORATORY: Amazing!

This is one of the most striking ways to decorate paper by hand. The demonstration that the craftsman makes for us is always suggestive; the children will be delighted to witness this making and can participate in this experience. Marbled paper is not, contrary to popular belief, a Florentine invention. It is a paper decoration technique of Chinese and Japanese origin: in fact, the earliest examples of decorative marbling date back to the 8th century and are found in Japan. Merchants in the Far East lined boxes of goods with these decorations, and through this packaging, the paper came to the West, which spread as decoration on book covers. In Florence, this technique found fertile ground in the late 1400s, and within a few centuries, the Tuscan capital became a world leader in this field, so much so that it was renamed marbled paper.

Today the same technique is also used for leather decoration.

But how is Florentine paper made? We have to make a bath of water and glue. Acrylic colors are put into this gelatinous mixture, and with the help of some tools called combs, different designs are formed. Each comb has different end teeth to create different patterns. The sheet is then placed in the enclosure, removed, and allowed to rest for half an hour. Each sheet of Florentine paper is unique. Small flaws or inconsistencies are certifications of the product’s craftsmanship, age, and love of the person who made it.

GUIDED TOUR WITH A PERFUME MASTER: the pleasure of the nose!

The famous perfume, later known as Eau de Cologne, was created in Florence for the future queen of France, Catherine de Medici. Later Catherine transmitted to the French royal court a passion for perfumes, which would give rise to the great perfume industry in France. There are numerous stores in Florence, from the best-known and famous Officina del Profumo Santa Maria Novella also on Via della Scala or, more hidden, Aqua Flor (not far from the church of Santa Croce), or the master perfumer Sileno (in the San Nicolo’ district) who in 2018 was recognized as one of the best artisans in Italy. Be captivated by his philosophy and the essences and fragrances made from the flowers of the Florentine countryside. 

A brief word about the history of the famous Officina Santa Maria Novella.