In a city like Florence where big-name labels like Gucci and Ferragamo are mainstays for international shoppers, it's easy to overlook smaller, homegrown names.

A number of these designers can be found in the Santo Spirito neighborhood. Situated in the Oltrarno quarter, south of the Arno River, this residential enclave is a collection of quiet and narrow streets gloriously free of the hordes of tourists that dominate the town center. Mostly housed in elegant Renaissance buildings, the shops especially stand out because many preserve the increasingly hard-to-find tradition of making everything by hand.

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com