Leather in Florence. Everything you need to know about history, shops and leather schools in Florence.

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Florence is also renowned throughout the world for its tradition for leather.
Walking through the city center and especially in some areas, you can really smell the leather!
The city, together with a big part of the Tuscany region, represents in fact the hub of Italian leather goods production, especially with regards to high quality and luxury products. Even today, in this area, prestigious international brands in this sector coexist alongside small family-run artisan shops.
Here we embark on a journey to understand why leather is historically connected with Florence, and why it is still so renowned today. Finally I will suggest some shops that are worth a visit if you want to buy leather products.

History of leather in Florence

Florence has been working with leather since the 13th century when the Leathermakers’ and Galigai’s Guild was born in 1282. The guild was the same since leather workers and galigai were almost the same profession, with the difference that the latter were more oriented towards the production of shoe soles (from the Latin caliga).

Leather tanning in Florence

The animal’s skin has to be processed (tanned) in order to be used. In fact, the purpose of this particular treatment is to make the leather soft, waterproof, breathable and resistant, so that it can be used to make shoes, bags, jackets, small accessories and many other products.
This was a smelly and very long process.
The hides to be tanned were essentially of two types:
1. raw hides, i.e. The fresh ones just slaughtered. The butchers cut off all waste such as tail, lips, ears and any meat residues, using these offal sometimes for food and sometimes for the production of soap and glue.
2. dried skins belonging to long-dead animals preserved in salt.
All the hides were then thrown into the tannery (a kind of tank) where they were soaked for up to eight months in a bath of water, fermented urine and canizza (dog dung).

The processing was at the beginning near Piazza Santa Trinita and Palazzo Vecchio, where a small stream flowed. But with the construction of the Uffizi Gallery, tanneries were moved to a more peripheral area, towards Santa Croce. In fact, here still today we can find street names that recall these activities such as via delle Conce and via dei Conciatori (tanning) which in the past bore the name of via dei Bucciai (those who worked a finer type of leather) and via dei Pelacani. Here, until the 1950s, leather workshops and drainage ditches that flowed into the Arno still existed.

 

Leather production in Florence today is carried out by the leather district, in particular in Ponte a Egola, Castelfranco di Sotto, Santa Croce sull’Arno, Fucecchio (about an hour’s drive from Florence). This has become an important reference worldwide for the production of leather and hide, which continues to carry forward the tradition of the ancient Tuscan tannery, but with attention to man, eco-sustainability and the environment.

 

 

 

Leather schools in Florence

The leather school, Scuola del Cuoio , via San Giuseppe

Founded in 1950 thanks to the initiative of the Gori family (Florentine leather craftsmen since 1930) and the Franciscan Friars of Santa Croce who wanted to teach a job to the many orphans left behind by the World War II. The Gori family put their technique, experience and love for leather into the workshop and the friars offered some cells in the suggestive spaces adjacent to the Basilica of Santa Croce.
This is a truly valuable training activity that keeps working with traditional methods alive.
Here you can also buy beautiful bags, wallets, belts and jackets. So here you buy MADE in FLORENCE

Schola Academy, via Pindemonte

SCHOLA is an Academy, based in Florence, dedicated to uncompromising craftsmanship and quality in leather and much more. The main programs last 20 weeks. The teachers guide the students throughout their school career, following them in the creation of Made in Italy products and projects. Seasonal and accredited programs are also offered during the academic year.

Where to buy leather in Florence

Il Bisonte, Via del Parione

The beating heart of the Il Bisonte universe is guarded by a very short supply chain that extends along the path of the Arno river. All the suppliers of leather and fabrics and all the tanning, buffering, cutting, splitting, skiving and hand stitching laboratories are located within a 30 km of the main factory in Tuscaby, in the center of a territory which is symbol of the best artisan knowledge since the Middle Ages.
The owner of this brand, now known throughout the world, is Wanny di Filippo, a life dedicated to the leather..

 

Pelletteria Artigiana Viviani, Via Guelfa, 3/A

I love this workshop that is located just a few steps away from the Accademia Gallery because it is a very beautiful workshop and it is also a beautiful story.  It all started with Renato who, in the 1920s, trained as a leather craftsman in Guccio Gucci workshop. Then after working for many years in Buenos Aires in 1965 he returned to Florence to open his own shop. Viviani’s strong point is that the shop has got an attached laboratory. While purchasing a unique piece of craftsmanship you can see where and how the bags are created by expert craftsmen.
Now the shop is run by Viviana and Leonardo Viviani, second and third generations of Viviani!
Specialties: women’s bags for all occasions, but also elegant work bags, wallets and accessories.

San Lorenzo Leather Market and Loggia del Porcellino Market

If, however, you are not looking for the bag of life, but are simply looking for something simple and that does not have to last forever, then the San Lorenzo Leather Market or the Loggia del Porcellino Market are certainly the most suitable.
Here is budget letaher and so good for everybody. However, you need to be aware of what you are buying. What I mean is that you need to know that if the bag bears the Made in Italy label, this does not guarantee that it was made in Italy and not even that the leather used comes from animals raised in Italy. Unfortunately, Italian law authorizes to put the MADE IN ITALY label even when only a very small part of the manufacturing process is done here.
It is the shop that practically “certifies” that the Made in Italy you buy is a real one because the shop knows where the product is made and where the leather comes from. So, essentially, the only element to evaluate the authenticity of Made in Italy and which helps to evaluate the quality is the price.
Quality leather and quality workmanship are never cheap because they last over time and are rarely found in the market.

In conclusion, the history of leather production in Florence is a story of passion, dedication and craftsmanship. Thanks to its long tradition and its commitment to innovation, Florence continues to be a point of reference in the world of leather schools and leatehr goods, with products that best represent the excellence of Made in Italy.