3-hour walking tour
Discover the ancient art of crafting and modeling precious jewels, woven fabrics and pieces of art.
Your private guide will lead you through a journey along the old streets of Florence, where you will visit the shops of local artisans and admire them at work. Learn some tips and tools used by master craftsmen and admire the traditional detailed techniques used by the best actors of the field. During the tour, you will be shown a variety of antiques, models and artifacts that are renowned among collectors all over the world.
After that, we will visit the church of Santa Maria Novella, a gothic basilica in Florence with beautiful frescoes by Ghirlandaio and Masaccio, and its Officina Farmaceutica, one of the oldest Pharmacies in the world set up by the Dominican friars shortly after 1221, the year of their arrival in Florence.
Some of the most representative pictures of this tour
Discover the main stops of this tour
This famous church lends its name to the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, as well as the city's principal Dominican church. Inside you are able to admire frescoes by masters of Gothic and early Renaissance who were financed by the most important Florentine families to ensure themselves funerary chapels on consecrated ground. Among these, Tornabuoni Chapel, the Filippo Strozzi Chapel and the Gondi Chapel stand out and are highly prestigious.
It is distinguished by the excellence of the formulae developed by the apothecary fathers, thanks to which during the 18th century its fame spread across national borders, reaching Russia, the Indies and even China. The Old Apothecary, now a herbalist's shop, was used for the sale and display of products between 1612 and 1848. The museum, housed in the Old Laboratories and Storerooms of Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, gives visitors the chance to get an insight on the machinery once used in the company's production processes.
Nowadays, many Master Artisans are still operating in the heart of Florence. Their bottegas are scattered throughout the city but the main concentration can be found in the Oltrarno, a historic neighborhood located south of the River Arno, hence the name. True jewels of the Florentine handicraft, workshops of bronze casters, plaster and terracotta items and much more await you when crossing the threshold of the artisan’s bottegas in Florence.
Some useful information for your experience
Expert and licensed guide, entrance ticket, full on-site assistance, sterilized earphones (from 5 people upwards).
The visiting hours for the Basilica change during the week according to the time of year.
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