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Don’t forget Florence is a centre of fashion Shop for anything in leather...
[Susan Glasspool]
We could say that leather has always been produced and worked in Florence - certainly since the 15th century on a large scale - and was further encouraged in the city’s heighday by the rich banking families and nobility. Time has certainly been on the side of this cottage industry, for today Florence is one of the major producers of leather in the world as well as being one of the main centres for leather shopping in Italy.As famous for leather as Venice is for glass, Florence is full of shops selling fine leather goods - the most famous of course being Gucci and Ferragamo, both in Via Tornabuoni - but many stores offer products of equivalent quality, design and finish.
You can find many shops in Florence that, like Gucci and Ferragamo, have their own factories (not so long ago the work was carried out directly in the homes of craftsmen living in Florence and the surrounding countryside). Many such craftsmen still work in the Santo Spirito area and on request the Tourist Board organises guided tours of their workshops.
Even the tanning is still local, concentrated mainly in the town of Santa Croce sull’Arno. End products can therefore be found at very reasonable prices.
Apart from dreamy shoes, you can find a wide assortment of handbags and purses, beautifully made coats, skirts, jackets and trousers, splendid fur coats, suitcases, soft gloves, wallets and belts, and all in a variety of leathers, from cowshide, pigskin, sheepskin to snake, lizard and even crocodile. They are of course treated in different ways according to the desired colour, grain or effect required.
One of the advantages of searching for leatherwear and accessories is that you can find something to suit all pockets - from expensive and very fashionable designer bags or shoes to small purses, bookmarks or key-rings - that will always remind you of Florence.
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