The Scuola del Cuoio di Firenze celebrates 75 years of craftsmanship and caring for people
Founded in 1950 in the monastery of Santa Croce to teach a trade to war orphans, today it also involves the third generation of the founding families, and thanks to its made-to-measure creations it closed 2024 with a turnover of 10 million
While today's fashion companies compete in populating the 'social sustainability' section of their balance sheets with as many items as possible, there are those who can boast of no less than 75 years of projects aimed at the wellbeing of people, because they were born exactly for this purpose. It was in 1950, five years after the end of the Second World War that had devastated the city, when in Florence two leather craftsmen, Marcello Gori and his brother-in-law Silvano Casini, accepted the invitation of the Franciscan friars of the Santa Croce monastery: to open a school to teach a trade to the orphans of the conflict.
In order to organise it in the best possible way, the friars made available the spaces of the Dormitory, designed by Michelozzo, and its long wing with the cycle of frescoes by the Ghirlandaio School. The beauty of the surrounding art and that which took shape through the hands allowed the 'Scuola del Cuoio', this is the name of the project, to take care of people while creating precious objects. And today, when it is run by the founders' heirs, the company flourishes thanks to the preciousness and uniqueness of its creations, handmade with materials, workmanship and details chosen by the customers, many international, especially American, who are not afraid to wait up to five months for their order.
The success of the formula is backed up by the numbers: in 2024, Scuola del Cuoio recorded the highest turnover in its history, reaching 10 million euro, an increase of 25%, and following once again its philosophy of giving back and caring, it paid its 35 employees, who still work under the vaults of the Renaissance dormitory, a production bonus of 2,500 euro net.
To consistently celebrate its 75th anniversary, the Scuola del Cuoio has decided to support the restoration of the facades and roofs of the left side of the Cortile di Michelozzo inside the Complesso Monumentale di Santa Croce, but also to offer nine scholarships to young people in difficulty, selected from among the applications proposed by the Social Workers of the Municipality of Florence and the Artemisia Association. All this is done through the Marcello Gori Foundation, established in 2022, which every year awards scholarships to young people in marginalised conditions and women victims of violence, favouring their insertion into the world of work, also through learning sophisticated techniques such as hand gilding with 24-carat leaves (which customers, moreover, can watch live while it is being carried out).
Other young people, the grandsons of the founder Gori, are now in key roles in the company: Tommaso Melani Gori is a board member and owner of the footwear brand Stefano Bemer; Filippo Parri Gori is production manager and responsible for cutting the fine leathers, and Beatrice Parri Gori has taken on the role of sales manager and communications director. Marcello's daughter Francesca curates her own collection of hand-sewn bags, made of different types of leather and embellished with antique jewellery from all over the world, such as semi-precious stones, silver or gold jewellery and rare materials such as fossils and quartz. These characteristics, combined with the company's philosophy, make each creation truly unique.
