Florence
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Private Florence Oltrarno Art and Crafts Walking Tour

Florence, Italy
Florence Walking Tour Oltrarno Art and Crafts

From $186.48

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

  • 3 hours
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

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Overview

Explore off the beaten path with a tour through Florence’s lovely Oltrarno district. Led by a private guide, discover the side of the Arno River where a community of artists live and work. Meet Florentine craftsmen, experience stunning Renaissance architecture and visit artist workshops, with the chance to try the ancient skill of paper marbling.
  • Explore Oltrarno, a lively Florence neighborhood where many local artists live and work
  • Watch craftsmen in action and see their finished work including fine art prints, jewelry and more
  • Try the centuries-old tradition of paper marbling in an authentic atelier
  • Visit Piazza Santa Spirito and see a wooden crucifix, carved by legendary Renaissance sculptor Michelangelo
  • Private professionally guided tours

What's Included

  • Local professional Guide at your side
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Santo Spirito Monumental Complex Admission (to be paid on the spot)
  • Gratuities
  • Everything not mentioned as Included

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • Piazza de' Pitti, 24, 50125 Firenze FI, Italy

    Piazza de' Pitti nr 24 in front of the newspapers stand

End point

  • Borgo San Frediano
    Borgo S. Frediano, Firenze FI, Italy

What To Expect

Your tour will begin by Piazza Pitti, where you’ll join up with your private guide and begin your walk through the Oltrarno. On the opposite side of the river from the Florence Duomo and other large city attractions, this charming neighborhood is filled with artists and craftsmen. Stop first to meet the owner of a traditional workshop and see the high-end engravings and art prints that are produced there.

Next, travel to a nearby studio to see how jewelry is created from silver and enamel. The silversmith will pass on entertaining anecdotes about life in Florence as a master craftsman. Continue to another workshop to learn the age-old skill of paper marbling, and try mixing and applying colors yourself to create the stunning swirls on paper that produce a marble-like effect.

Journey through the bustling Piazza Santo Spirito, filled with galleries and restaurants, before wandering into the Basilica de Santa Maria del Santo Spirito, designed by Renaissance master Filippo Brunelleschi. Take note of the church’s wooden crucifix that 17-year-old Michelangelo carved (admission ticket to be paid on site).

To complete this unforgettable experience, your guide will bring you into a famed sculpture workshop*. Explore the impressive collection of models, molds and replicas of classical art before parting ways with your guide.
* in case the visit of the Atelier is not available, it will be replaced with the visit of an additional Florentine Artisan Workshop

Palazzo Pitti

2 hours 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Basilica di Santo Spirito

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Porta di San Frediano

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Near public transportation
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Operated by CAF Tour and Travel

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Reviews

4.0
11 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Showing 1-10 of 11 reviews
Fascinating tour of Florentine artists studios
Eloise_B, Sep 2022
This private walking tour of the Oltrarno area was truly one of the highlights of our stay in Florence. Our guide Simona was so knowledgeable and shared some interesting insights about the history of the city while taking us to see some incredible artists. It was fascinating to see the traditional ways of cutting stone for mosaics or carving wood by hand still being used to make stunning work. I love how personalized the tour was, and Simona was so gracious to answer all our questions about the city and even help me find a lapidary artist because I was looking for a specific stone to set in a ring. I would wholeheartedly recommend this tour to anyone interested in seeing beyond the tourist areas to craftspeople who have been working their whole lives perfecting their craft.
Response from Host, Sep 2022
Dear Eloise_B, Thank you so much for having joined our "Florence Oltrarno Art and Crafts " walking tour with a private guide and for having shared your opinion with us and our common readers. We are so proud to read that this experience has met your expectations and that you have appreciated our way to make you discover Florence. We really hope to have the opportunity to welcome you again on another of our tours! Best regards,
Oltrarno Delights!
dawnbailey1017, Feb 2020
One of the true highlights of our tour. Watching the artisans create their pieces was wonderful! Had a spectacular tour!
Response from Host, Feb 2020
Dear dawnbailey1017, many thanks for such a positive feedback! We are so glad to hear that your Florence Oltrarno Art and Crafts Walking Tour with a private guide has been one of the highlights of your trip, it's reason of great proud for us. We hope to meet you again in the future to have the opportunity to show you other wonders of our beautiful Country. Best regards
VERY disappointed. This is supposed...
Paula R, Oct 2014
VERY disappointed. This is supposed to be a tour of the arts of crafts area and we only saw only saw three real crafts-marble papering, a silversmith, and a leather shop. Then we saw a church and a mosaic stone. Where is a bookbinder, the gold-leaf artists, and some of the other crafts. We only saw 3 demos. I thought the whole tour would be arts and crafts-not another church. I wanted to see how things were made no stores. We saw more crafts walking around on our own and going into workshops.
Mainly the "artisans" just wAnted us to...
Gail H, Nov 2013
Mainly the "artisans" just wAnted us to buy something
Fascinating to see just how the...
ANNE C, Oct 2013
Fascinating to see just how the artisans make the silver and gold items, shoes, chairs, and the marbled papers etc. A very interesting afternoon.
Wonderful personalized tour! It was...
Gwen A L, Jul 2013
Wonderful personalized tour! It was a bonus of our trip-the whole family enjoyed it very much! It was fascinating to see the different artisans, even getting personal demonstrations! Our guide was wonderful and knowledgeable. The absolute highlight was to see the gorgeous crucifix by Michelangelo!!!!!!
This was a great tour: met several...
Georges D, May 2013
This was a great tour: met several astounding artists and the tour guide was very helpful and knowledgeable
Enjoyed this tour very much; the guide...
Jacquie K, Jul 2012
Enjoyed this tour very much; the guide was easy going and knew her stuff
Mycket givande att få se dessa...
Marita N, Jul 2013
Mycket givande att få se dessa fantastiska hantverkare. Trevlig och härlig guide.
Un tour très interessant, on...
John A, May 2013
Un tour très interessant, on découvre des gens qu'on aurait pas trouvé par nous meme. Je recommande fortement

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