Photo: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo credit
Gold leaf gilding workshop with a frame restorer
Your local guide
Chiara Benvenuti
View profile
Highlights
- Gesso and bole mixed the Renaissance way
- Twenty-three carat gold leaf, laid by hand
- Tools unchanged since Cennini wrote about them in 1400
- Finished frames explained shelf by shelf
- Gilding technique built up in layers, explained close up
About this tour
This session is a gilding demonstration inside a working frame restorer's studio in Florence. The camera follows gesso and bole being mixed the Renaissance way, a sheet of twenty-three carat gold leaf laid by hand, and finished frames on the workshop shelves built with tools that have barely changed since 1400. It stays close on the hands throughout.
After a sound check, the demonstration moves step by step through the process above, with the restorer taking questions about materials and timing as the work continues. A short note on the history of the technique goes out once the call ends.
This suits anyone with an interest in traditional crafts and materials that have survived essentially unchanged for centuries. It also suits anyone restoring or collecting old frames who wants to understand how the gilding was originally done.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
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Welcome and sound check 7 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Florence before heading out.
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Preparing gesso and bole 21 min
The camera watches the restorer mix gesso and bole the Renaissance way, layering the reddish clay that will sit under the gold and give it warmth once burnished.
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Applying the gold leaf 21 min
The camera holds steady as a sheet of twenty-three carat gold leaf, thinner than paper, is lifted with a soft brush and laid flat without a single crease.
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Tools from 1400 21 min
Among tools that have barely changed since Cennino Cennini described them in 1400, the restorer shows finished frames on the workshop shelves and explains how each one was built up in layers.
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Your questions 14 min
Time to ask anything about Florence: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
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A short list to keep 6 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Crostini di fegatini and San Lorenzo, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in Rome time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 6 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Florence, showing you Piazzale Michelangelo and Basilica of San Lorenzo live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
Do I need any background in art?
No. The guide explains what matters as you go, whatever you already know or do not.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We meet on Google Meet; the link comes with your booking. I walk Florence live with my phone and you ask anything as we go.
Times shown in Rome time (CET)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
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Next: Thu 3 Dec · 6 seats left From 34,00 €
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