WHAT IS IT ABOUT US WHO SWOON when we run our hands over a smooth leather handbag and then stick our noses inside for a sniff? Probably it’s best not to analyze. It’s probably better to just go to leather heaven on earth: Florence.
As you walk through the streets in the Santa Croce district you’re hit with intoxicating smells and sights—everything from luxurious coats to purses and belts in appealing styles and colors. Here’s where leather making in Florence all began, in the days of the Renaissance Artists’ guilds, when this was the primo Arno riverside spot for tanning cow hides.
Florence
This store and workshop was once a monastery built by the Medici, tucked behind the Santa Croce church. And by the way, when you stop by to see the wonders of Santa Croce, notice (as you exit) the statue of Florence Nightingale, who was born here and named after the city.
Shopping at the Scuola del Cuoio has a step-back-in-time feeling, where you can watch artisans at their hallway wooden work stations crafting leather boxes or, with torch in hand, magically bordering them with gold filigree. Everything for sale is cut and sewn right here, using leather tanned from Tuscan experts. There are desk sets, wallets, lovely designed purses, and jackets. They have expert tailor services on hand who’ll mail your jacket back home after it’s fitted perfectly, or you can work with them to have one custom-designed just the way you like it.
The Donnini family has been creating leather gloves in Florence since 1919. Their tiny shop, just over the Ponte Vecchio, is crammed with beauteous cashmere and silk-lined leather gloves, that you’d pay twice the price for back home. Customer service is ultra-attentive. You place your hand on a green velvet pillow and the shopkeepers measure and fit you. For a moment, you feel like a queen.
Rome
Elisa Nepi, a young Roman artisan, is the designer of every chic thing in this fun shop. She also (bless her) keeps her prices for handcrafted wallets, purses, and belts reasonable. Her parents started the business in 1971, making satchels for local workmen that became popular with backpackers. In 2002, Elisa was all set to fly the coop and become a physical therapist. But when she flunked her university exam, she decided to put her hands into the business and has brought the shop into the fashion limelight.
The Sirni family has been in the Rome leather business since 1950. In this sophisticated, tiny shop, Mamma Rosanna (along with her son and daughter), handcraft exquisite luxury bags, some done up in crocodile or ostrich leather. Roman women adore Sirni for their customized services; you can have them make a purse for you with every compartment you’d ever desire. It’ll take a month, since it’s a small workshop, but to have something beautifully styled by these folks is worth the wait.
You’ve got to stop in to this shrine to leather and fur. It all began with Adele Casagrande who created a little fur shop back in 1918. She married Edoardo Fendi in 1925 and then encouraged her five daughters to join the business. The Fendi daughters brought a whole new energy to the company, that’s turned it into a worldwide success. They’ve also expanded Fendi Roma, turning the upper floors of the Palazzo into an exclusive hotel and Zuma restaurant, serving Japanese fusion cuisine.
Venice
Silvano Arnoldo and Massimiliano Battois met in architecture school, and bring their passion for contemporary design to creating unique, high-quality handbags, beloved by Venetian women.
Here you’ll find everything from polka dot to fur-lined funky gloves, in every color imaginable. Snatch a pair up to take the Venice chill away.
Naples
You’ll get a warm Neapolitan welcome, complete with caffe, when you visit this flat/workshop of Mauro Squillace, who follows in his family’s tradition of handcrafting exquisite gloves made from the finest materials.
Golden Day: In Florence, visit Santa Croce and shop at the Scuola del Cuoio. Eat at Trattoria Cibreo (Via dei Macci 122r, 055 2341100, closed Monday. No reservations.) This adorable trattoria is the budget branch of the revered Cibreo, headed up by Fabio Picchi, a superstar Florentine chef who changes his menu daily according to what’s freshest at the nearby Sant’Ambrogio market.