So Thursday morning in Florence, we visited Santa Croce. That gorgeous basilica I’ve blogged about the last couple days. With the memorials and the tombs and the Catholic art and the little nuns. The photos do NOT do this place justice. I just loved the space and the light.
But that wasn’t even all of it. RIGHT next door is a leather school (Miranda visited the leather school when she was in Florence and bought herself a wallet).
It really is right next door …. In the same building complex, sharing a courtyard, I think.
Andrew was pretty excited about la Scuola del Cuoio ….
From their website:
Scuola del Cuoio was created after World War II through the collaborative efforts of the Franciscan friars of the Monastery of Santa Croce and the Gori and Casini families, Florentine leather artisans since the 1930’s. Their mission was to give orphans of the war a means to learn a practical trade with which to earn a living.
Santa Croce, with its strategic position along the banks of the Arno river, since the 13th century had been historically the district where the industries that required great quantities of water were concentrated. The tanners of via delle Conce and via dei Conciatori, just a few steps from the garden entrance of the Monastery and Scuola del Cuoio, were an important part of the Santa Croce neighborhood with the dyers of Corso dei Tintori and even the soap makers of via dei Saponai. The tanned hides were used for centuries for the leather manufacturing of the city and at the Monastery itself to cover the great manuscripts. Post-war Scuola del Cuoio brought those traditions back to the Monastery.
Look at all the fun tools they have ….
The workers/students were set up in kind of a wide hallway. Or really long and narrow room. The tables/workbenches are set up along one wall so tourists (read: me with my camera) can walk past all of them to watch their work and see what they do. They also all had mirrors above/behind them, so observers could see the intricate work from that different angle as well …. It was a pretty interesting set up.
(shot in the mirror:)
They have a lot of the work (wallets, belts, planners of all kinds, keychains, etc) for sale on the premises and you can also get them personalized (with initials, fleur de lis, etc).
Andrew really wanted to get a wallet, but it was extremely expensive (if I remember correctly around $50 or more), so we decided a Target wallet would be good enough. Too bad though. I understand why it is so expensive, we just can’t afford that.
Feel free to shop online, though, if you don’t think you’ll get a chance to go to Florence before you need a new wallet or purse.
And before we leave … a couple shots of the courtyard of the church. Green with huge trees. SO so pretty at 11am.
Coming up next : the Accademia (and David!!!!)
P.S. Remind me next time to study up on my Catholic history before visiting Europe