Florence has sold craft since the medieval guilds ran the city: leather cured behind Santa Croce, paper marbled by hand across the Arno, silk still woven on 18th-century looms. Three days that trade souvenir carts for the workshops supplying them.
Two levels under Mengoni's 1874 iron-and-glass roof. Ground-floor butchers, tripe and truffle stalls open 07:00–15:00 Mon–Sat; the upstairs food hall runs 09:00–midnight daily. Outdoor San Lorenzo stalls circle the building with leather.
The leather school founded in 1950 inside the Santa Croce friars' dormitory, entered through the church garden at Via San Giuseppe 5r. Artisans gild initials onto bags at open benches; open 10:00–18:00, Sunday 10:30–18:00 in season.
The 1547 stone loggia where silk and gold were once traded now shelters straw hats, embroidered linen and leather goods, daily 09:00–18:30. Tacca's bronze boar of 1634 sits on the south side, its snout polished by coin-rubbing.
Erin Ciulla's bookbinding studio at Via de' Bardi 17, working since 1980 behind a glass wall so you watch boards being covered in marbled sheets. Journals, photo albums and desk boxes; open roughly 10:00–13:30 and 14:30–18:00 weekdays.
Florence's luxury spine between Piazza Antinori and Ponte Santa Trinita: Ferragamo in the 13th-century Palazzo Spini Feroni, Gucci, Pucci, Cavalli and the Ferragamo Museum in the same basement. Most doors open 10:00–19:00.
A wood-panelled truffle bar at Via de' Tornabuoni 64r, trading since 1885 and still selling its panini tartufati — soft rolls with truffle butter — alongside Antinori wines by the glass. Standing room only at the marble counter.
Dominican friars began distilling here in 1221; the frescoed sales hall on Via della Scala 16 opened to the public in 1612. Acqua di Santa Maria Novella, pomegranate soaps and rose water, 09:30–20:00 daily, with a small free museum behind.
The concept store at Via Roma 19-21r that grew from a 1930 hat shop into one of Europe's first luxury e-commerce sites. Four floors of Rick Owens, Jacquemus and Loewe, a rooftop restaurant, and a rotating art installation in the atrium.
The neighbourhood market Florentines actually use, at Piazza Ghiberti since 1873: an iron hall of butchers and cheesemongers ringed by outdoor produce and second-hand clothing stalls. Mon–Sat 07:00–14:00, closed Sunday.
A silk mill at Via Lorenzo Bartolini 4 running looms from the 1700s and a warping machine drawn to a Leonardo design. Ermisino taffeta and lampas are still woven for Italian palaces; visits are by appointment on weekday mornings.
Butchers were evicted from the bridge in 1593 and jewellers installed in their place; the wooden shutters still fold down like market stalls. Cassetti, Fratelli Piccini and Ugo Piccini sell coral, cameos and Etruscan-style gold, 10:00–19:00.
Founded 1856 opposite Palazzo Pitti at Piazza Pitti 37r, the oldest paper workshop in the city and the family credited with reviving Florentine marbling. Hand-combed sheets, leather-cornered boxes and blank books bound on site.