Artisan Quarter: our dream to revive the Oltrarno in 2021
This historic district is slowly losing its culture – we must innovate to save it
Kris Garland
share
The Oltrarno neighborhood has long been known to be a hub of artisanal workshops. Rich in culture and history, this artisan quarter is home to many talented professionals whose original creations range from leather goods to designer jewelry, finely tailored clothes, shoes and hats. There are also experts in metalsmithing, etching, and fine art and antique restoration. These craftspeople have dedicated their lives to perfecting their techniques, many of which are centuries old, and this devotion to quality and originality is truly a cultural treasure.
an ingenious timelapse of never-ending passersby, like the trudging circles in the
Inferno, in front of the nineteenth-century Carrara marble tribute by Paolo Emilio Demi. The half-hour of camera clicking has attracted the attention of the young army officers standing guard over the U-shaped corridor and its priceless possessions. “I wonder why Alighieri is spelled with two ‘l’s,” the soldier muses. “Maybe it’s a mistranslation from the Latin.” Any ideas?
This issue of
The Florentine celebrates Florence’s Supreme Poet ahead of Dantedì on March 25, the date when Dante is believed to have started writing his ‘Divine Comedy’ and the date that the Italian government has dedicated to the writer as a symbol of Italian culture worldwide. For Eugenio Giani, president of the Tuscany Region, Dante is the “cultural father of all of Tuscany” as well as a “friend… a familiar presence even to those who haven’t studied literature”, while for Mayor of