Florence = Heaven for so many reasons. There’s the masterpieces of architecture and art, amazing food and wine, welcoming natives, AND wonderful shopping.
During our Golden Weeks, I’ve loved seeing the great joy women experience over filling their suitcases with gifts to bring home, and to keep for themselves for lasting memories…
It’s so easy to come by fun leather finds in the market stalls of San Lorenzo, around Santa Croce, and the Mercato Nuovo (aka Straw Market, Mercato del Porcellino)…
And lovely to stroll along Via Tornabuoni for designer brands in shops that were once Renaissance palaces…
What’s marvelous is how history and tradition combine as we experience artisan shopping in Florence.
Here are 5 of My Favorite Shops in Florence:
Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella
Shopping is taken to a mystical level in this wonderland of scents and lotions. The shop was a fourteenth-century Gothic church/monastery for Dominican friars, turned into a farmacia to sell their potions in 1612. Today scent scientists reproduce the monk’s recipes and develop new ones…
Angela Caputi
Caputi is a bold designer, who has rocked the high fashion world since 1975 with her unique, plastique jewelry. Her fun, vibrant bangles, necklaces, and earrings are wow-inspiring, and included in the Pitti Palace Costume Museum’s collection…
Scuola del Cuoio (Leather School)
A monastery built by the Medici was transformed in 1950 into a leather workshop by the Gori family, who welcome customers looking for their high quality creations. You can watch artisans at their workstations crafting exquisite goods—from desk sets to purses to jackets, and Francesca Gori making her one-of-a-kind amazing purses…
Il Torchio
Artisan Erin Ciulla owns this enchanting, tiny store and workshop in the Oltrarno, that’s packed with gorgeous journals, frames, paper, etc. She also creates custom-made products, including our journals for Golden Weeks in Italy.
Sbigoli Terrecotte
The Florentine tradition of ceramics is celebrated in this shop, that’s been around since 1857, full of colorful treasures, painted in traditional and modern styles. You’ll be welcomed by the Adami family, including Maestro Artigiano Lorenza, who you’ll find in the back workshop. Ceramic painting classes are also offered…another highlight of our Golden Week…,
Come along for GOLDEN WEEK IN FLORENCE AND THE ITALIAN RIVIERA: For Women Only, to experience these wonders and more first hand…6 Spots Left!
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