The guided tour services are carried out by reservation only. Each proposed itinerary can be merged with another of those listed, as well as modified according to the specific interests of visitors

A) Standard: Piazza dei Vicari, Noble rooms of the Palazzo dei Vicari, Preunitarian Historical Archive, Museum of Cutting Irons, Bottega del Coltellinaio

Duration: about 1.15 hours;
Min. 10 people;
Cost: € 10.00 up to 15 people – € 8.00 over 15 people

The guided tour in Italian or English will start from a historical introduction on the birth of the village of Scarperia. Some hints will be made on the historical center and, in particular on the Palazzo dei Vicari. Entering the interior of the latter, you can visit the two atriums (covered and uncovered) frescoed with many heraldic decorations. The visit will continue in the noble rooms of the palace, overflowing with coats of arms and works of art including La Madonna del Ghirlandaio. Of considerable importance is the precious Oriuolo by Brunelleschi, to whom an in-depth account of its history will be dedicated, from birth to conservation. It will be possible to go up to the magical bell tower of the castle, and see where the clock was originally placed and exercised its function. A visit to the Preunitarian Historical Archive, which preserves over 4500 filze, will conclude the itinerary in the ancient part of the Palace, to then continue in its new and modern wing dedicated to the Museum dei Ferri Taglienti. Here, all types of Scarperia knives production and a good part of the Italian one will be illustrated, with Florentine and Sienese switchblade, agricultural and livestock knives, hunting knives, daggers, table cutlery and tailoring and embroidery scissors. The route will continue with a visit to the Antica Bottega del Coltellinaio in Via Solferino, located a few meters away from the building. The shop represents the surviving testimony of the knife maker’s working environment and preserves the machines and equipment for the craftsmanship of the knife that took place there.

B) Historic center of Scarperia

Duration: about 30 minutes;
Min. 10 people;
Cost: € 4.00 per person (€ 2.00 if combined with the A standard guided tour proposal)

The guided tour in Italian or English will start from a historical introduction on the birth of the village of Scarperia from Piazza dei Vicari. Important buildings overlook here: both political ones such as the 14th century Palazzo dei Vicari (which will be visited from the outside), and religious ones such as the Propositura dei Santi Jacopo e Filippo, founded by the Augustinians between 1325 and 1326 assuming the role of Propositura only in 1808. A visit to the Oratory of the Madonna di Piazza follows, a modest-sized building dating back to around 1320, then reaching the ancient walls and gates that once delimited the town.

C) Demonstration in the Workshop

Duration: about 30 minutes;
Min. 10 people;
Cost: € 3.00 per person

After introducing the history of Scarperian cutlery, you will reach the Antica Bottega del Coltellinaio in Via Solferino where you can watch a demonstration of the processing of the knife: the forging of the blade, the spring, the modeling of the ox horn handle, the The assembly of the various pieces, the sharpening and polishing will be the protagonists, accompanied by the expert hands of the master knife maker. Anyone who wants to can try to assemble the various pieces that make up the knife to “touch with your hand” the tradition, through the ancient tools now in disuse, the smells, the noises, the fumes of the hearth.