Country Article / Postcards
Gilded Leather, Florentine-style
Date: 10/14/2004Dear International Living Reader,
Beyond the sacristy of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy, is an aged dormitory that once housed Franciscan friars. Today this dormitory serves as the Scuola del Cuoio, or School of Leather, where visitors are invited to watch as artisans demonstrate the fine skills of cutting, crafting, and gilding leather with 22 carat gold.
The School was founded after World War II by the friars of the Monastery of Santa Croce and the Gori and Casini families--Florentine leather artists--to give the war's orphans the opportunity to learn a trade. The techniques of ancient leather working were taught so well that since the 1950s clients have been buying the school's finished goods. The U.S. Airforce, the 5th Army, American Embassies in Europe, and the 6th Fleet made the first purchases. Today's visitors and patrons include the royal families of England, Sweden and Greece, former first ladies Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush, celebrities such as Paul Newman, Steven Spielberg, and Jack Nicklaus, and tourists like me looking for a special gift. All products of the school's workshop, whether ostrich, calf, or crocodile, from handbags and wallets to jewelry cases and desk sets are made by hand.
The Leather School is located at Piazza Santa Croce (through the church) or via San Giuseppe 5/R (through the garden surrounding the 13th-century Basilica of Santa Croce).
--Elise Warner
For International Living
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