Monaco Metropolitano

Their mission is to create pieces that are as unique as their owners, transforming each one in the process into a work of art. Though two MM purses may look alike at first glance, each in fact is a signature piece, and a legacy piece, designed to last not just through your lifetime, but through your children’s lifetimes as well.Their shop is located within the ancient walls of an old convent in Florence’s Oltrarno District. There, next to accessories for sale, you will find Monaco Metropolitano’s studio, where each piece is handcrafted according to the old methods, using the traditional tools of the trade. But each day, tradition gives way to different cultural and ethnic influences, mixing and melding together across a multitude of languages into myriad uses and designs. It’s through observing this phenomenon that MM’s many ideas and accessories are born, welcoming its designer to embrace the new ways in which people work, study and travel, bringing forth a perpetual search for harmony amidst all these apparent contradictions. MM researches quality, necessity, enjoyment and beauty; the very things that give life meaning and that, in turn, make each of us an original.Monaco Metropolitano loves combining creative energies with other designers and artisans, and often comes up with original collaborations with goldsmiths, embroiderers and milleners, and with everyone that shares their vision and mission. Out of these collaborations come new ideas on how to create original pieces using old-world materials and techniques, and the results are often unlike anything you’ve even seen: fresh and truly exceptional. MM prefers creating personalized pieces, creating objects that meet a client’s needs by working together with their clients through a process that leaves room for those indecisions, doubts and rethinking that ultimately transform each piece into a work of art.Each MM piece endures because it’s created with patience and with a respect for time—time needed to make each piece a reality.Out of this method, an idea, and then a school, was born. Other than learning how to cut, work and sew leather at the elbow of master leatherworkers, each student has the freedom to begin conceptualizing and designing their own bag, wallet or belt. And with the methods they learn in class, they can each create their first piece. And the MM instructors’ methods work: each student thrives under their instruction, using the tools and methods learned to create pieces as beautiful and individual as they are.So, barely a stone’s throw away from the hustle and bustle of tourists bent on capturing their own bit of Florence, and around the corner from the luxury shops and souvenir stands, is a place where it’s still possible to rediscover the true essence of objects made with love, time and originality. Experiencing Monaco Metropolitano can be wonderful, not only because you can learn to work leather, but because you will learn the time-honored techniques and secrets of the trade from a true Florentine artisanal master. This is truly an exerience not to be missed.Work and love stand the test of time here. Made by hand, each piece is unique. Everything is alive. Leather is a page of nature, and we write a language that will never die...We believe in beauty, in things that have significance and in the mission of traditional artisans, and we channel our passion into creating works of art.