What Scuola del Cuoio is known for
Florence leather school and workshop inside the Franciscan monastery of Santa Croce, founded in 1950 by the Gori and Casini families with the friars to teach leatherworking to war orphans; still family-run, with visitors able to watch artisans work and buy directly from the workshop.
Scuola del Cuoio was established after the Second World War through a partnership between the Franciscan friars of the Monastery of Santa Croce and the Gori and Casini families, Florentine leather artisans active since the 1930s. Marcello Gori and his brother-in-law Silvano Casini moved their workshop into the monastery's dormitory space, with the explicit mission of teaching leatherworking to war orphans as a practical trade. The school opened its doors to retail customers in May 1950. Following Gori's and Casini's deaths in 2003, the business passed to Gori's daughters - Laura, Francesca, and Barbara - who still run the school and workshop.
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — Monastery-made leather goods and bespoke pieces.
Hand-made in the Santa Croce workshop, Florence.
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In the Journal
Hand-curated for ORBIS · no paid placement