Florence walking tour oltrarno art and crafts

Explore Florence's Oltrarno neighborhood, on the less-visited (but equally charming) side of the River Arno. Your 3-hour walking tour focuses on the intriguing Florentine art and craft traditions that are centuries old, but still alive in Oltrarno today. Meet local artists and craftsmen, visit bustling workshops, see beautiful Renaissance architecture and even try your hand at the ancient skill of paper marbling!

Meet your guide by the impressive Piazza Pitti, and stroll through the quaint streets and squares of the bohemian Oltrarno neighborhood. The lively, working-class district hums with activity of craftsmen and traders going about their day-to-day lives. The first stop on your tour is an old atelier, a traditional workshop where the owner will show off the quality art prints and engravings that are created there.

Head to a studio close by and watch a silversmith in action, creating jewelry from silver and enamel. Hear colorful tales and learn about his working life in Florence as a master craftsman. Your tour continues to a paper marbling shop where you’ll learn all about this fascinating craft. The ancient skill of paper marbling is rarely practiced anywhere else in Italy, so this is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn how to mix and apply colors to create gorgeous, marble-like swirls on paper.

After spending roughly two hours meeting Oltrarno's most interesting craftspeople and seeing their places of work, your guide will introduce you to the neighborhood's other charms. Walk through Piazza Santo Spirito, lined with restaurants, craft shops and galleries, before stepping inside its main attraction -- the beautiful Basilica de Santa Maria del Santo Spirito. Originally designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, one of the most important architects of the Renaissance era, the church is home to a wooden crucifix that was carved by a young Michelangelo when he was just 17 years old.

Your walking tour ends at the workshop of a great Florentine artist, descended from six generations of sculptors. Located in an 18th-century church, the workshop is home to a vast collection of molds, models, copies of famous monuments and replicas of classical works of art, all of which you can admire!