The "Oltrarno Artisan Walk" is concentrated in the “Oltrarno” area, which lies on the left bank of the Arno River in the heart of artisan Florence.

Here you will visit a craftsman who still practices wood carving using techniques dating from the 17th century,the Art Printers where prints of landscapes and scenes of Florence are reproduced using a procedure which has become almost lost today, a leather craftsman who creates beautiful handbags, wallets and exquisite leather boxes skilfully modelled by hand, a Shoemaker who creates made to measure shoes all by hand and a bookbinder who decorates book covers with the famous Florentine marbled paper each page of which is created rigorously by hand in beautiful colour combinations. We will enter the hidden workshops where small and precious silver objects are made in pure Florentine style. We can follow the work of the young artisan creating real works of art, with wood marquetry and a unique and genuine workshop “museum” where mosaics and landscapes are “painted” using marble and semi-precious stone inlays instead of brush strokes.

During our walk we will pop into various other quaint little shops where you can buy authentic handmade

The “ Fashion Design Walk” is a shopping walk through creative fashion boutiques of unusual or emerging designer brands. A different experience where you get to know the real, authentic and hidden Florence.

For those who dream of owning the finest leather accessories such as shoes and handmade bags we will directly visit their creators. We will observe the goldsmith who still continues techniques from the past to create jewels with a modern twist using silver, gold and precious stones. Enter the imaginative world of a designer famous for her colourful bijou of inimitable taste and style. We will meet the handbag designer in his studio located inside an old palace with its own beautiful garden, the hat maker, one of the last still selling the famous straw hats of Florence which originated in the 16th century. We can feel the texture of the purest and softest sweaters in cashmere. We will explore a “Concept Store” specialising in clothing with an original touch, unique and at the same time ethical for its use of natural organic and eco-friendly fibres. Let’s be enchanted by one of the first organic textile fashion companies, from the “Organic Style” which today is an up-coming innovation in the Made in Italy fashion industry. During our walk we will also visit various workshops and labs where you can watch the artisans at work and at the same time perhaps buy something unique as a reminder of your stay in Florence.

Shopping Tours are Mo-Tue-Wed - Fri morning from 10 and afternoon from 15,30 for 3-4 hour

Fashion designer
Mosaic
Gold
Paper
Shoes
Porcellain

What you love about Oltrarno Artisan and Fashion Design Walk?

A marvelous day with Maria

Carey, USA / Jan, 2017

My husband and I spent a week at this CHARMING central Florence apartment. It couldn't have been more perfectly located. We were steps from all the local highlights, could manage to feel a part of all of the wonderful shopping and restaurants and enotecas and still have a peaceful oasis to relax in the middle of the bustle of bella Florence. As noted by other gusts it is a few flights up but it is a great warm-up for climbing to the top of the Duomo! The stairs are wide with good handrails and landings to get a breather, by the end of our stay we were trotting up like pros! The wifi was strong, the washing machine well explained by Fancesca and worked great for us. The apartment is wonderful, personal and well set up, good lighting for reading in the evenings and lots of natural light for cafe in the mornings. The kitchen had all we needed and the bed was quite comfortable, there were lots of wonderful touches, well decorated and lovely. We used Diana's travel company Acacia to book a tour of the Oltrarno with Maria and it was a highight of our trip. We had an insiders view of lots of cratsmen's studios, got to see mosaic and leather working and woodcarving shops, and the artists at work all selected to suit our particular interests. Maria's ability to transalte for us allowed us with our meager Italian the opportunity to get to know some extraordinary artisans and learn a little about this lesser seen part of Florence. In addition, Diana's communication with us prior to our arrival allowed for a seemless check -in and she also booked our 4:30 AM taxi to return to the airport, assisted with tickets to the museums and provided her native insight to really maximize our enjoyment of the trip. All in all it is extremely highly recomended and as it sits in the center of several beautiful boutique hotels that charge double the price for small rooms, we feel it was quite a bargain given all it offers. Grazie Mille, Diana and Francesca! @abnb