 |
Historical News |
Florence and villa history
|
||
|
The powerful "Arte della Lana" (Guild of Wool) grouped weavers, clippers and dyers. Weaving wool was not sufficient, as the woven and stretched rolls needed to be clipped and dyed. Florentine craftsmen were skilled weavers, but most of all they were perfect clippers and excellent dyers. |
 Corso dei Tintori |
|
|
Dyeing was probably the most delicate step, for the beauty and fastness of colours, which could neither alter nor fade in the sunlight. At the beginning, when the "Guild of Wool" counted 200 shops, the dyers almost exclusively dedicated their time to dyeing the fabrics, which the "Guild of Calimala" exported to all Italian and European markets. Later on, when the "Guild of Silk" got the upper hand, the dyers applied their efforts to obtain, with silk, the same success already achieved with wool. Quite clearly, dyers enjoyed a privileged status within the two "Guilds", first the guild of wool and then the guild of silk, as they were keepers of jealously safeguarded secrets. A great quantity of water was required, running water to wash, scour and rinse. This is why dye-works were located along the banks of the Arno River, with the basins below river level. During and after the catastrophic flood of 1966, we obtained confirmation that today’s "Corso dei Tintori" (Dyers’ Promenade) is in fact the original, because basins and churns used centuries ago by woollen craftsmen were very clearly brought to light in the cellars of even the more elegant buildings. In the past, when the river was still not accompanied by the convenient "lungarni" (streets along the banks of the Arno), water inlets with vaults and columns, races and canals could be found on its banks. The water from the Arno, after having passed through the dye-works, was drained into the roads without sewers, probably foul smelling, but variegated with the most varied colours. As relief from their very hard work, the craftsmen could count on the preaching of the Franciscan monks for their spiritual comfort and on sacred paintings and frescos for their intellectual enrichment. Finally, for recreation, they had the games in the square, the jousts and races though the streets...
|
(Bargellini - Le strade di Firenze - Bonechi 1978)
 |
|
HOLIDAY HOMES GUICCIARDINI FIRENZE Lungarno delle Grazie, Florence, Italy Real Estate FATTORIA GUICCIARDINI Viale Garibaldi, 2/A - P.zza S.Agostino, 1 53037 San Gimignano (Siena) Tuscany Italy Tel./Fax ++39 0577 907185 E-mail: info@guicciardini.com Web: www.guicciardini.com |
web agency