The Place of Wonders

Since 1774, historic Florentine firm Pineider has been a byword for quality handmade paper and writing materials. To cross the threshold of its factory is to enter a fascinating world where taste, dexterity and the pursuit of excellence go hand in hand.

The great Italian tradition of violin, viola and cello making lives on in the Florentine workshop of luthiers Paolo Sorgentone and Michele Mecatti. A visit to this temple of musical craft illuminates the passage from raw wood to sounds of ethereal beauty.

Ginori manages the difficult feat of staying true to its 18th century roots while tapping into the contemporary zeitgeist. The Place of Wonders offers exclusive visits to the ceramic firm’s splendid flagship store and behind-the-scenes tours of its historic factory on the edge of Florence.

The Place of Wonders is a project that dares to dream of a new form of ‘experiential tourism’ . Working closely with a vibrant local community of artists, makers and curators, The Place Firenze turns guest visits into fertile exchanges that forge lasting connections.

Marino Marini was one of Italy’s greatest 20th-century artists and sculptors. Housed inside the deconsecrated church of San Pancrazio, the Museum that bears his name contains 183 of the master’s works. Heavily influenced by Etruscan art, Marini was famous for his horse and rider sculptures, which possess an archaic life force but also expressed his evolving response to the challenging historic times he lived through.

Accessed via the Museo Marino Marini, the Rucellai Sacellum is one of the timeless masterpieces of Italian Renaissance art. Designed by architect and thinker Leon Battista Alberti for Florentine merchant Giovanni Rucellai between 1455 and 1471, and based on the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, it is a miracle of perfect harmony and proportion, one whose design intuitions still feel fresh today.