Photo: Infrogmation, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo credit
Oltrarno artisan workshops walk
Your local guide
Chiara Benvenuti
View profile
Highlights
- Real gold leaf, laid by hand on a frame
- A bookbinder still sewing pages the old way
- Scagliola, plaster made to look like marble
- A shoemaker carving wooden lasts by hand
- Via Maggio's palaces, now home to antique dealers
About this tour
This session moves through the artisan workshops of Florence's Oltrarno district, on the quieter side of the river. The camera watches a gilder work with real gold leaf, a bookbinder sewing by hand on Via Santo Spirito, and a scagliola workshop turning plaster into something that looks like marble. It ends on Via Maggio among shoemakers and antique dealers.
After a sound check, the walk moves workshop to workshop in the order above, with the guide taking questions about each craft as it comes up rather than saving them for the end. A short list of the workshops and their opening hours goes out once the call closes.
This suits anyone with an interest in traditional crafts and the people who still practise them daily. It also suits anyone who has visited Florence's main sights and wants to see the quieter side of the city that makes them possible.
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
-
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.
-
A gilder's workshop 21 min
The camera watches a gilder lay real gold leaf onto a frame, the sheets so thin they lift with static before the guide presses them flat with a soft brush.
-
Via Santo Spirito workshops 21 min
On Via Santo Spirito, the camera looks in on a bookbinder still sewing pages by hand, then moves to a scagliola workshop, the Florentine technique for making plaster look exactly like marble.
-
Via Maggio 21 min
The walk ends on Via Maggio, where the camera passes a shoemaker carving wooden lasts by hand and the palaces now filled with antique dealers along the same street.
-
Your questions 14 min
Time to ask anything about Florence: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
-
A short list to keep 6 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Bistecca alla fiorentina and Oltrarno, 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 8 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 Ponte Vecchio and Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore) 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.
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.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Reviews appear here after travellers have completed this tour.
How reviews work
Only travellers who booked and paid through Locals Guide and whose tour took place can leave a review, within 60 days of the tour. Every review is marked "Verified booking". We check reviews before they appear and publish positive and negative ones alike; we remove only reviews that break our rules (insults, personal data, unrelated content). Guides cannot pay for, edit or hide reviews, and ratings are the plain average of all published reviews.
Next: Thu 29 Oct · 8 seats left From 24,00 €
Book