Uncovering Florence’s Hidden Gem: The Ancient Art of Commesso Fiorentino at Lastrucci

When visiting Florence, most travelers admire the marble facades of Santa Croce, the masterpieces of the Uffizi and the city’s extraordinary Renaissance architecture.

But Florence has another side that is just as fascinating: its centuries-old artisan traditions, many of which are still alive today.

Step into a traditional workshop like I Mosaici di Lastrucci, and you can discover one of Florence’s most fascinating Renaissance traditions: Pietre Dure, also known as Commesso Fiorentino.

What is Commesso Fiorentino?

Unlike traditional Roman or Byzantine mosaics, made with small, relatively uniform pieces known as tesserae, commesso fiorentino is often described as “painting with stone.”

Artisans carefully select natural gemstones, semi-precious minerals and rare marbles, choosing each one for its natural colours, textures and veining.

The stones are then cut and shaped with extraordinary precision and fitted together to create intricate images that can look almost like paintings.

The fascinating part is that the artisan works with the natural characteristics of the stone. A vein might become part of a landscape, while variations in colour can create flowers, fabrics or architectural details.

A Florentine tradition

The art of working with precious and semi-precious stones became particularly important in Florence under the Medici.

In 1588, Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’ Medici founded the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, establishing Florence as one of Europe’s great centres for this highly specialised art.

And what I love about Florence is that this is not simply a tradition belonging to the past.

It is still alive today.

Inside the Lastrucci Workshop

During my visit to the Lastrucci atelier, I had the opportunity to see this ancient craft up close.

The workshop is filled with beautiful natural stones and minerals from different parts of the world, including lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, malachite from South Africa and amethyst from Brazil, as well as local Tuscan stones.

I was also able to see the traditional process of cutting the stone using a wooden bow saw, with a fine wire coated with abrasive powder.

The precision required is extraordinary. The stone is cut into very thin pieces and carefully shaped before the individual elements can be assembled.

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Each piece is then fitted together with such precision that the joins become almost invisible.

Watching this process makes you realise how much patience and craftsmanship are hidden behind a finished work.

A collection of pieces of stone, each with its own colour, texture and natural pattern, slowly becomes a detailed image.

And because the colours come directly from the minerals in the stones, they have an extraordinary and enduring quality.

A different side of Florence

For me, this is exactly what makes Florence so special.

Of course, the great masterpieces of the Renaissance are essential to understanding the city. But Florence is also a city of workshops, artisans and traditions that have survived for centuries.

When you step inside a traditional workshop and see an artisan working with techniques passed down through generations, you experience a different side of the city.

You see the Florence behind the monuments — a Florence where history is not only preserved in museums, churches and palaces, but is still being kept alive by hand.

Discover Florence beyond the famous sights

This is the kind of Florence I love sharing with my guests: not only the iconic monuments, but also the stories, crafts and traditions that reveal the city’s character.

If you would like to discover Florence from a more local and personal perspective, take a look at my private Florence tours. Depending on your interests and the time available, we can go beyond the usual highlights and explore some of the city’s fascinating artisan traditions as well.