Private visits to the studios, workshops & showrooms of outstanding Italian craftsmen, artists and designers
loving italy specialty tours
Artisan & Artist Italy Tour Activities
What do these all have in common? – High heeled sandals, custom fit gloves, hand wrought gold jewelry, intricate mosaics, wool menswear, luxury yachts, sleek gondolas, massive church bells, carnival masks, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, buttery soft leather.
Italian artists and artisans, of course! Italy is synonomous with design, elegance and style. And its traditions are a very old and important face of Italian culture.
Your custom Italy vacation can include several visits to the workshops, showrooms and studios of some of our favorite artists and artisans.
Tour Options
As you may have read on other pages, ALL of Loving Italy touring is tailor-made around your favorite destinations, interests, style of travel, pace and priorities.
We don’t have a “menu” of ready-made tours to fill up a shopping cart with. Simply use the ideas on this page as a jumping-off point for a custom Italy trip built around your interests.
These artisan visits can be included as part of a single-day driving or driving/walking tour, as a cruise excursion tour, or as part of a longer itinerary in Italy.
Things Our Clients Have Liked
Artisan Puppet Theater | Sicily
Puppet opera emerged in southern Italy and particularly in Sicily in the early 1800s, and is now recognized by Unesco as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
The lively performances often enact Frankish romantic poems such as The Song of Roland or Orlando furioso, or medieval clashes between knights and Moors: the puppets were taken as symbols of the desire for revenge and justice of a social class.
This transmission of ancient codes of conduct — a sense of honour, chivalry, defence of justice, faith and the need to excel – make Sicilian puppet theater timeless.
The puppets themselves are works of art. Just over a foot and a half tall, they have a rod inside and flexible left knee, so that in the hands of an able puppet master they truly seem to come to life.
Artisan Leathermaking | Florence
Florentine leather is exquisitely soft and supple, and is often dyed to colors that you wouldnt find at home — think peacock blue, sage green and lemon yellow.
Artisan Ceramics | Sicily / Umbria / Amalfi coast / Puglia)
Handmade sandals | Capri
Any of these activities can be built into your custom tour of Italy. Don’t see something you were hoping for? Ask us!
Artisan Inlaid Wood (Intarsio) | Sorrento
Watch artisans making humidors, music boxes and and game tables out of exotic inlaid hardwoods. They start by building a frame out of chestnut, walnut and oak. Then smaller shapes are cut on a jigsaw and then these delicate fillets in lighter woods are put into place…..like building a puzzle piece by piece.
Gondola production (“squero”) | Venice
The gondola is one of Venice’s symbols through the past few centuries. It is about 33 feet long, 5.5 feet wide, and is the only boat with an uneven keel — it is shorter on one side to give the gondolier an anchorpoint for his manuevers.
While in Venice we can include a visit to a “squero”, or gongola building shop.
Artisan Papermaking, Marbelizing & Book Restoration | Florence
Artisan Perfumes | Florence / Capri
Mosaics | Vatican City / Florence
Two different and equally fascinating techniques. Florentine “commessa” uses carefully selected semiprecious stones that are then cut with a manual jigsaw to create a puzzle piece. The process is lengthy and difficult, but the end result is a mosaic which looks like a painting or watercolor until you get up very close!
The Roman technique used in the Vatican Mosaic school uses square pieces that are carefully placed — tens of thousands of them, in some cases — to recreate famous paintings. They are also famous for their miniatures, given as ambassadorial gifts to other heads of state.
Suitable for
Perfect for adult friends traveling together or newlyweds and families. Your kids will probably enjoy these unusual visits over visiting museums, and they are perfect for any mobility level.
When to Go
Nearly all the artisan studio visits are indoors, so they are suited for any time of year.
Pricing
Because each tour is custom-made, the final price depends on the class of hotels you choose, number of people, exact itinerary, etc.
We prefer to give all-inclusive pricing, so that you don’t have to reach for your wallet every 15 minutes to pay for extras usually only mentioned in the fine print.
Planning & Booking
To start the conversation, please use the contact us page or send us an email [email protected].
We will set up a good time to talk, and in a short call we can cover the most important details of your trip, and then we can refine the plan by email.
Once again – these are only ideas to help you get started thinking about what YOU would like to do. ALL of our trips are custom-designed around your schedule, interests, style of travel and “wish list”. Please contact us to discuss to design your next trip
