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Historic florentine businesses
Presentation of the guide
Florence Concierge Information

With this guide to its historic shops and businesses the City of Florence, wants to help acquaint its residents and visitors with the traditions that are still a vital part of its fabric, and mainly, to help them patronize these places wherefine goods are made and sold. We hope that this will contribute to improving consumer awareness which mass production and large-scale distribution tend to entrust to advertising and trademarks. The guide lists the establishments which the City of Florence identified as "historic" when the most recent urban planning scheme was prepared. "Historic" may apply to dealing in the same merchandise on the same premises for decades or even centuries, the type of craft activity, and even the typically "Florentine" nature of the goods that characterize the city's or the district's fabric, the historic or artistic merits of the building's architecture, the furnishings, windows and fittings. The businesses are listed by category and then by district. Many of the listings include a brief historic note, the information often having been provided by the proprietors themselves who have thus made a direct contribution to this publication, with interesting, specific and often little-known facts. In those cases where we could not get direct information from the source, we provided data on record in City Hall.

The simbol of the historic florentine businesses

We are confident that the success this initiative will encaunter among our merchants and artisans will encourage all, and we mean all the others, including those who up to now have not realized the intrinsic potential of public recognition of the historic nature of their businesses, to participate in the future editions of this guide. With this publication, the City is launching a logo that will distinguish historic Florentine businesses. The right to display this logo will be granted to the businesses within the context of a program to incentivate these activities which played and still play such an important role in the city's history, and which therefore require a major commitment from the local authorities in order that they not be lost to us or future generations. The City is caunting on the cooperation of all concerned, especially those businesses that deal directly with its guests, to acquaint them with this book and thereby make a significant contribution to enhancing the Florentine economy. Piero Roggi
Commissioner for Economic Development