Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
such as miniature shop
models and tiny packs of
cards.
Mandragora
in Piazza
del Duomo has a wide
choice of gifts based on
famous artworks in the city,
while the renowned
Pineider
has upmarket stationery
and office gifts in leather,
linen and paper.
For locally made terracotta
and decorative glazed
ceramics visit
Sbigoli
Terracotte
.
La Bottega dei
Cristalli
has Murano glass
kitchenware, chandeliers
and decorative objects.
Passamaneria Valmar
sells
decorative key and curtain
tassels, tapestries and soft
furnishings in silks and wools,
while
Lisa Corti Home Textile
Emporium
has hand-printed
cotton throws, bedcovers and
cushions as well as a range of
children's clothes and pottery.
to the latter just to see book-
binding in action, as you can
wach it being done on the
balcony workshop.
Typical antiques shop in Florence
ART AND ANTIQUES
Florence has always been a
centre of artistic excellence.
This heritage has translated
into a wealth of antiques and
fine art shops. The antiques
shops are mostly clustered
around Via dei Fossi
(see
pp112-3)
, Via Maggio
(see
p118)
and Via dei Serragli.
For top-quality antiques go
to
Neri
or the nearby
Cei
.
Romanelli
has bronze statuary
and works encrusted in semi-
precious stones, while
Ducci
has an exquisite selection of
handmade boxes, prints and
sculpture in marble and wood.
For lovers of modern art,
there is
Galleria Tornabuoni
,
while modern art objects and
gifts can be found at
Armando
Poggi
.
Ugo Poggi
has a selec-
tion of household objects,
including elegant porcelain.
Ugolini
and
Mosaico di Pitti
create tables and framed
pictures using the age-old
technique of marble inlay.
Arredamenti Castorina
has a
wonderful selection of picture
frames, mouldings, brassware
and intricate intarsias. More
contemporary styles are at
Mirabili
, which showcases
furniture and interior designers.
Feltrinelli International bookshop
FOOD AND WINE
BOOKS AND PAPER
Those shopping for food
should go to
Pegna
, a mini-
supermarket in the heart of
Florence that stocks fresh, as
well as vast selection of
gourmet, foods. The
Bottega
dell'Olio
has shelves of extra
virgin Tuscan olive oils, spice-
flavoured oils and gifts. For
typically British items such as
teas and speciality foods go
to
Old England Stores
.
Dolceforte
sells chocolate
souvenirs in the shape of the
Duomo and the statue of
David. A huge selection of
biscuits and chocolates fills
the front half of
Alessi
, while
at the back and in the cellar
are fine wines, spirits and
liqueurs. Another good place
to buy wine is
Zanobini
,
The main bookshops in
Florence are
Feltrinelli
International
, which sells
publications in various
languages, and
Edison
, which
stocks magazines, maps,
books in English as well as
coffee-table photography
books, and also houses a
café.
Paperback Exchange
has
an extremely wide selection
of new and second-hand
books in English.
Typical Florentine crafts
include bookbinding and
handmade marbled paper,
which is used to decorate a
variety of gift objects. These
are easily available at
Giulio
Giannini
,
Il Papiro
and
Il
Torchio
; it's worth going
GIFTS
Florence is a treasure trove for
unusual gifts and souvenirs. Via
de' Guicciardini and the area
between Piazza di Santa Croce
and Piazza della Signoria are
good places to look for gifts.
Housed in a converted wine
cellar,
Signum
has postcards,
posters and prints, and items
Fresh vegetables at a Florentine market stall
