From a recent census, it seems that there are around 800 artisans’ workshops in the Oltrarno. Via Maggio, in particular, traditionally a temple for antiquarians, is today still a concentration of art and culture.
However, if you have a weakness for shoes, you are in the right place, because this zone is the very place where you can see craftsmen busy at work on made-to-measure shoes, such as those of Roberto Ugolini.
Do you love the unmistakable aroma of paper? Then you will not be able to resist going into one of the marbled paper and bookbinding artisan shops in the Oltrarno, such as Il Torchio.
But this zone is also swarming with goldsmiths’ workshops: for example, drop in at Ugo Bellini, a stone’s throw from Piazza Santo Spirito, where they create exclusive jewellery using age-old methods, also based on customers’ designs. And what can you say about the Antico Setificio Fiorentino, one of the very few silk production workshops left in Europe? Since 1786 they have been spinning precious silk fabrics, today used above all by the houses of haute couture and by architects to furnish residences and boats.
