The must-see shopping streets

Some glimpses of Via de’ Tornabuoni and the arch that marks the entrance to the nearby Piazza della Repubblica. The big Italian and international fashion brands are concentrated in this interweaving of roads

THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE

The shopping streets in the heart of Florence: luxury boutiques and high cra smanship

TEXT Francesca Lombardi

Afashion triangle composed of Via de’ Tornabuoni, Via della Vigna Nuova and Via degli Strozzi: the city’s downtown shopping streets lined with the major Italian and international designer boutiques. Via de’ Tornabuoni is definitely the luxury shopper’s paradise. The imposing Palazzo Spini Feroni, which houses the Salvatore Ferragamo boutique and museum, is the virtual starting point of our tour. A string of fabulous fashion boutiques follows: to the le and to the right Burberry, Celine, Saint Laurent, Gucci, Prada, the Di Loro Piana collections… And the elegant two-floor Dior shop, Giorgio Armani, Fendi, Max Mara, the great names of high jewelry such as Tiffany, Omega, Bulgari, Cartier, Pomellato, Damiani, next to historic jeweler’s shops like Fani Gioielli, the authorized Rolex dealer. From the Santa Trinita Bridge and by continuing down the street to its very end, we reach Piazza Antinori, where the Hermès, Ermanno Scervino and Isabel Marant boutiques are located.

On the nearby Via della Spada, the cashmere scarves and shawls by Faliero Sarti, Dr. Vranjes’ fragrances, the colored home accessories by Mario Luca Giusti (both having another shop on Via della Vigna Nuova). Via della Vigna Nuova, which runs perpendicular to Via de’ Tornabuoni, houses great fashion names such as Etro, jeweler’s like Giovanni Raspini, the leather creations of high cra smanship by Benheart. Via degli Strozzi is lined with the Louis Vui on, Bo ega Veneta, Dolce&Gabbana, La Perla, Emporio Armani and Patrizia Pepe boutiques. Just steps away, on Via dei Pescioni, the sartorial menswear collections by designer Stefano Ricci, with high quality, artisan processing techniques and a Florentine heart being the brand’s core elements. Not located in the fashion triangle area but definitely worth a visit are the Luisaviaroma boutique- the city’s bestknown multi-brand store, the kingdom of Andrea Panconesi whose shop windows dictate the fashion trends every season- and the Miu Miu boutique, both on Via Roma.