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What to Buy in Florence |
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The vibrant city of Florence is a major centre of fashion, style and taste. The exquisite craftsmanship and unique creativity of Italian products will compel you to shop until you drop. Most of the shops are closed in August.
Antique collectors will take quite some time browsing through the wide selection of authentic Italian pieces located in the area around Santo Spirito. The large store of Antonio Espositio Antiquario on Via Maggio has superb examples of ornate Italian furniture, crafted accent tables, marble and bronze statues, oil paintings and mirrors. Gallori Turchi houses a collection of handcrafted furniture and inlaid wood, fine sculptures, chandeliers, and weaponry such as swords, lances and pistols. Gianfranco Luzzetti is a more expensive store housing many items of Florentine history dating from the 15th to the 17th century, the most noteworthy being the Deruta ceramics and majolica, where the past makes a perfect present.
The Giannini family store located in Piazza Pitti are renowned for fine paper both marbled and printed and has several branches, for instance Il Papiro is on via di Scolivigne and they take bulk orders. Fetrinelli on Via Cavour is the biggest chain of bookstores in Florence and you are sure to find reading material that will interest you. Other popular bookstores are Edison located on Piazza della Republica which has a large collection of travel related literature in English, Franco Maria Ricci, the place to stock up on limited editions, arts and crafts and handmade stationery situated on Via Delle Belle Bonne amongst many more.
Famous designers such as Armani, Bulgari, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Gucci and many more too numerous to name both local and foreign have outlets located on Via Tornabuoni and Via Vigna Nuova near Piazza della Republica.Most of these shops are open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm and from 3.30 pm to 7.30 pm. Usually on Mondays stores are only open in the afternoon.
Florence is also famous for its leather merchandise and has an abundance of shops selling top quality products like handmade handbags, jackets, wallets briefcases and shoes. Some of them are produced locally in the shops. Visit Piero Tucci to purchase creative leather products for your loved ones back home.
The shops on Ponte Vecchio are mostly jewellery stores and many unique creations although costly are available to suit your purse. The Florentine goldsmiths keep tradition alive and continue to create masterpieces that are envied by the rest of the world.Visit the lesser known workshops near Oltrarno which have cheaper jewellery that is sure to fit your budget.
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