Shopping in Florence

Good for: leather goods, shoemaking and a historic perfumery. Start in Santa Croce; the selected addresses continue through the historic centre, San Niccolò and Via della Scala. Book the Scuola del Cuoio technical visit and arrange Viviani’s workshop video call in advance.^[1,2,3,4,5]

Florence’s shopping districts have different characters. Central streets around Via Tornabuoni gather fashion boutiques, while Ponte Vecchio is known for its goldsmiths. City and regional guides point to Santa Croce and San Lorenzo for leather goods; artisan workshops are also found across the centre and in the Oltrarno. The four addresses here offer a more focused route through those varied traditions.^[1,2,3]

Scuola del Cuoio’s shop is at Via San Giuseppe 5R, 50122 Florence, beside the Santa Croce complex; artisans work at the same premises. From November through March the shop opens Monday–Saturday, 10:00–18:30; from April through October it opens daily, 10:00–18:30. Hours can vary.^[6]

The school offers two separate ways to visit its working spaces. A technical guided visit lasts about an hour and is available by reservation Monday–Friday for groups of up to 20, with advance payment. Free visits run from 10:00 to 17:00 for groups up to 10 without advance reservation, subject to staff availability. Admission to the Santa Croce church is separate. For details, contact info@scuoladelcuoio.com.^[4]

On Via Guelfa, Pelletteria Artigiana Viviani presents its Florence premises as a shop and offers a video-call visit to its bottega and laboratorio. The format is remote: it lets visitors see the workshop by appointment without implying public entry to the working space.^[5]

The shop is at Via Guelfa 3/A in Florence’s historic centre, near Piazza San Marco. The shop opens Monday 15:00–19:00 and Tuesday–Saturday 10:00–13:00 and 15:00–19:00; Via Nazionale connects to Santa Maria Novella station.^[5]

For the Viviani shop, call +39 055 282730 or write to pelletteriaartigianaviviani@gmail.com. The separate WhatsApp number for arranging a video-call visit is 334 1380206.^[5]

Stefano Bemer's shoemaking activity began in Florence in 1983. The company makes handmade men’s shoes and accessories and specializes in made-to-measure footwear. The Florence Flagship Store is at Via di San Niccolò 2; a separate Company Showroom is at 475 Park Avenue in New York. The Florence telephone is +39 055 0460476.^{[7,8,9,10,11,12]}

San Niccolò is part of the Oltrarno. The neighborhood includes artisan shops and historic places such as Santa Felicita, Torre di San Niccolò, Museo Stefano Bardini and Giardino Bardini.^[13]

Via della Scala was the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella’s first operational site; today its store is a boutique museum. The historic rooms form part of the Dominican convent complex and tell the story of the former pharmacy and its commercial activity.^[14,15]

The store is at Via della Scala 16, 50123 Florence. The operator listed daily hours of 09:30–20:00 when checked on 7 October 2026; consult the store page again before travel.^[14]

The visitor entrance for the basilica, museum and cloisters is at Piazza Santa Maria Novella 18 and has its own admission arrangements. The Officina’s retail site is a different address, at Via della Scala 16.^[14,16]

Begin beside Santa Croce at Scuola del Cuoio, then compare the retail shop and remote workshop visit at Viviani on Via Guelfa. Continue to Stefano Bemer in San Niccolò for made-to-measure shoemaking, and finish at the Officina’s Via della Scala store. This order connects different shopping interests across the centre and Oltrarno. Use a current map to plan the day.^{[5,6,10,11,12,13,14]}

Check Scuola del Cuoio’s seasonal shop hours and reserve its technical visit if that is the experience you want; its free visit depends on staff availability. Arrange Viviani’s video-call visit through WhatsApp. Stefano Bemer’s listed Florence contact is +39 055 0460476; call ahead for current visit details. Recheck the Officina’s store hours, and use the monumental complex’s visitor information if Santa Maria Novella basilica or cloisters are also on your plan.^{[4,5,6,10,11,12,14,16]}

Four named stops answer four different questions. A retail counter, a guided leather visit, a virtual workshop appointment and a historic perfume shop should not be presented as the same kind of access. Choose the experience first, then check the current operator arrangements.^[4,5,12,14]