from our windows: The Quiet Art of Straw Hats and Bags
from our windows: The Quiet Art of Straw Hats and Bags
A slow guide to the Arno Valley’s hat-making heritage.
There is a landscape just beyond Florence where the city dissolves into flatter horizons, and the air seems to remember older gestures. Here, craft is not something displayed—it is something that continues quietly, almost like a habit of the land itself. This is a landscape we know well. It is the very landscape that surrounds Valdirose here in Lastra a Signa. From our windows, the rhythm of the Arno valley and the memory of small workshops still shape the way one looks at making. For our guests, this corner of Tuscany reveals a different kind of beauty: one made of silence, patience, and continuity.
The Archive of Memory: Signa
At the heart of this history stands a place that does not preserve objects as relics, but as gestures still legible. It holds memory as something practical, not distant.
Museo della Paglia e dell’Intreccio
The Essence: The fundamental starting point to understand how a fragile material like straw became structure, silhouette, and protection.
What to look for: The incredible variety of historical weaves (trecce) and the traditional wooden blocks used to shape the hats.
Location: Via di San Lorenzo 43, Signa.
The Historic Ateliers: Where Tradition Continues
In these workshops, straw is worked with patience rather than urgency, shaped until it finds its place between function and elegance.
Catarzi 1910
The Essence: A lineage tied closely to discipline, form, and attention. Their hats represent a perfect balance between ancestral techniques and contemporary sophistication.
The Soul: Look at the continuity of a brand that has been repeating and refining its care for over a century. You can browse and shop their collections directly through the Catarzi 1910 Shop.
Location: Lastra a Signa.
Grevi
The Essence: A quiet clarity in design, as if certain perfect forms have already been discovered and only need to be repeated with care, without interruption.
The Soul: Renowned for their soft silhouettes and the effortless poetry woven into every single piece. To visit their historical space or contact them, check out theGrevi Studio.
Location: Signa.
Caterina Bertini (Michele e Giovanni Bertini)
The Essence: A beautiful family tradition started in 1920. Today, under the guidance of the third generation, they seamlessly blend the ancient art of Florentine straw weaving with modern, elegant accents.
The Soul: Famous worldwide for their iconic handcrafted straw bags and refined summer hats, which carry the nostalgic weight of family photo archives into contemporary fashion. Explore their craftsmanship via Caterina Bertini.
Location: Via della Balduccia 30/32, San Mauro a Signa
The Contemporary Layer: Sesto Fiorentino
As the landscape opens toward Sesto Fiorentino, the language of straw shifts into a more contemporary register, showing how tradition responds to the modern world without losing its soul.
Memar
The Essence: Here, production responds to a different rhythm—one shaped by global demand and fashion cycles.
The Soul: Even surrounded by the speed of the world, the essential gesture remains unchanged. Straw is still transformed by hand, still dependent on skill, still sensitive to touch.
Location: Sesto Fiorentino.
Notebook for the Slow Traveler
What a hat holds: To move through these places is to understand that a hat is never only an object. It is a threshold between exposure and shelter, between light and shadow.
Best time to visit: Spring and early summer, when the light in the Arno Valley perfectly matches the golden tones of the straw.
The Valdirose philosophy: We love these places because they do not represent preservation or nostalgia, but pure continuity. A way of keeping the hand present in a world that often prefers distance
About Valdirose:
If you are looking for an authentic, off-the-beaten-path experience during your trip to Tuscany, Valdirose is the perfect base. Located in Lastra a Signa, our charming bed and breakfast near Florence offers a peaceful retreat immersed in local history. Whether you are visiting the nearby Signa Straw Museum, exploring historic artisan ateliers, or looking for a boutique accommodation in the Florentine hills, Valdirose connects you to the true, quiet soul of Tuscan craftsmanship.