FLORENCE SHOPPING GUIDE: SPECIALITY SHOPS AND OTHERS ...
This page in our Florence shopping Guide (by Jenifer Howard Forneris and Cristina Jacomelli) has everything from Glass Blower shops to note-worthy Florence photography shops and Florence bookstores...
Name: Officina Profumo Farmaceutica Santa Maria Novella (click here for their website)
Type: toiletries, perfumes, home fragrances and herbal shop
Address: Via della Scala, 16; at only 15 meters on the left of Casa Howard
Note: it is one of the most ancient pharmacies in the world, within the convent of the Frati of Santa Maria Novella (the church in the homonimous square), being built in the XVI century. The difference between a pharmacy and a perfumes/liquors shop was very subtle in ancient times, because the basic elements of all these preparations were, and still are, herbs, plants, etc., only with different purposes; that's why this beautiful shop, which originally was a spezieria has this name: officina was the medicinal, officinal laboratory, profumo is the perfume aspect, farmaceutica is the pharmacy aspect. Everything inside this shop is magical: the architecture, the display of the products, the music and above all...the scents. The list of items is quite long and is presented in different languages: one can directly ask the lady or read the list and discover by oneself... Among the varieties there are the classic almond products and the historic acqua di rose (rose water)... But then there are more exotic items; one that has an originally fresh constant scent is that of zagara, the scientific term of fiori d'arancio (orange blossoms), which reminds us of Spain in Summer (azahar)...
Do experience this beautiful shop!
Type: weaver shop
Address: Via L. Bartolini, 4
Note: This is one of the most interesting places to visit, in a beautiful setting. You will find old looms which are still making upholstery fabrics like 400 years ago which you can buy (closed on Saturday morning).
Name: Locchi
Type: glass blower shop
Address: Via Burchiello, 10; tel. 055-229416
Note: ...for everything that has to do with glass. They will remake glass fillers for your silver ware, tops for your decanters or oil bottles, etc.. and they have a nice selection of new things as well.
Name: Cartoleria Vannucchi
Type: stationery shop
Address: Via Condotta, 26/r; tel. 055-216752
Note: among the best and oldest stationery shop in Florence, it has developed also selling beautiful prints, writing-papers with reliefs and incisions, leather items for the office and carta fiorentina (Florentine paper) with flowers and marble effects. This shop has received the fiorino d'oro (golden florin) in honour of its traditional value.
Name: Rigacci
Type: arts shop
Address: Via dei Servi 71/r; tel. 055-216206
Note: this shop takes its name from the owners; since the 1930s canvases and special paints have been sold here, and in the past they were manufactured personally in their laboratory. For this reason, even groups of modern and contemporary artists used to meet here and today several artistic works are exposed.
Name: Foto Locchi
Type: photography shop
Address: Via del Corso, 21/r; tel. 055-213743
Note: this is one of the oldest photo shops in Florence, with an archive of unique Florentine culture and everyday life photos dating back to the 1930's.
Type: photography laboratory, printing shop, editorial, archives and museum
Address: Largo Fratelli Alinari, 15; tel. 055-23951.
Note: this is the most important photography company in the world, which started as a printing shop; the traditional technique of collotipia (collotype: a photomechanical single transfer process, a carbon printing process, utilising glues; this work is done by hand so that each piece is unique) on paper and on silver plaques is still applied in their arts printing laboratory; the company has had an incredibly extensive archive of arts, culture and history photographs since the XIX century; it is the most important photographic editorial, the Museo di Storia della Fotografia Fratelli in the same building of Hotel Alinari, very close to the train station, and since the 28th of October of 2006 it has had the Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografia right a few meters from Casa Howard!..
Name: Zecchi
Type: colours, fine arts and restorations
Address: Via dello Studio 19/r; 055-211470
Note: this is a very interesting and useful shop for artists and artisans, because it has many materials and instruments for the fine arts, and, in addition, they even have materials used in the Renaissance.
Name: Edison, Feltrinelli, Paperback Exchange, Bm Bookshop...
Type: bookstores
Address: Piazza della Repubblica 27/r, tel.055-213110; Via de' Cerretani 30-32/r, tel. 055-2382652/2382874; Via Fiesolana 31/r, tel. 055-2478856,
Borgo Ognissanti 4/r, tel. 055-294575, respectively
Note: these are a few bookstores, among the best and most useful in Florence. Edison has a nice cafe where one can get a light lunch while reading some excerpts from some interesting book of the store; Feltrinelli has been the first in selling all pocketbooks; it has a rich store of foreign, original-language books (Feltrinelli International) in Via Cavour, 12/r (tel. 055-219524); it still sells pocketbooks but in much larger varieties and quantities and also music and dvd's. Paperback Exchange is specialized in used books to exchange.
BM Bookshop is a very nice English-language books.
Name: Lorenzo Villoresi
Type: perfume creator
Address: Via dei Bardi, 14; tel. 055-2341187
Note: this is THE experience in the world of perfumes. Mr. Villoresi is a several-times winner of the most prestigious prizes in the world, but this is not the only aspect of what makes his work unique: he's Florentine, his shop is in his own family palazzo, the flowers, the spices, the herbs, the woods and many many other varieties of elements carry our minds to ancient times, those times which run in his blood; the entire variety of smells, from the most known to the most mysterious and rare that can possibly be found in nature are in his shop in their purest essence...and from that moment on creativity has no limits to the creation of the most original perfumes; they are all prepared by hand, respecting the times and life of each element. All the process, from the olfactory tasting, the choice of the different elements, to the preparation and the final result explain the uniqueness of his work...
Name: Pineider
Type: elegant, refined stationery; specialized in hand-made printed papers
Address: Piazza della Signoria, 13/r; office tel. 055-6240224 (Bagno a Ripoli, Florence)
Note: this old stationery is very well known in Florence and dates back to the XVIII century; its different types of refined papers and above all its traditional and highly specialized hand-made printing techniques make it a special place for people who want to order exclusive and elegant customized invitations for all types of events, from the official to the more intimate; personal cards, etc.
Name: Cartoleria Parione
Type: traditional refined stationery
Address: Via del Parione, 10/r; tel. 055-215684
Note: traditional hand-made carta fiorentina designs, different types of writing-table accessories and miniature editions of books.
Disclaimer: this information is provided for Casa Howard guests use only. All content on this website is owned by New Guests Limited and falls under copyright laws.
