Last Updated: 12:09PM GMT 02 Dec 2002
'My dear Benvenuto," wrote Michelangelo to the Florentine goldsmith Cellini in 1552, "I have for many years recognised in you the best goldsmith we know of, but now I shall acknowledge that you are no less a sculptor."
The bust of Cellini, goldsmith to Renaissance popes and kings, sits at the centre of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. There he surveys rows of jewellery shops that have commanded the bridge since the 16th century.
But although the famous old bridge trades on Cellini's fame, these days not one of its shops contains a working goldsmith. The gold chains, diamond rings and pendants that glitter in the windows could be found in jewellers' shops all over the world.
But there are still several goldsmiths working in Florence, a city long famed for the precious metal, and which is still, with nearby Arezzo, one of Europe's leading producers of gold and other jewellery.
One of the most noted is Alessandro Dari. When I meet him in his workshop, the first things I notice are his hands. He has dirt under his nails and calluses on his palms - marks that I later find are common to all working goldsmiths.
Dari's workshop is as extravagant and fantastical as his jewellery. On one side there are workbenches with a gallery overhead, and on the other, an exhibition space for collections of his work and old musical instruments. His work ranges from castellated rings to a series inspired by Tuscan churches. His latest work is, he admits, more like sculpture than jewellery, with rings cast in the shape of demons and dragons so large as to be almost unwearable.
Across the River Arno, Stefano Alinari is bent over the tools in his workshop. He is working on a collection of jewellery inspired by timepieces. His latest pendants and rings, built up from collages of watches, jewels and worked metal, display immense technical skill acquired over 30 years. Alinari's eyes dance as he explains what his work means to him: "It is about rebellion," he explains. "Doing just one piece is a rebellion against modern working methods."
Just as Cellini looked to ancient Roman jewellery and sculpture for inspiration, Alinari has made extensive studies of historic jewellery. Goldsmiths have to be virtuosi, he points out. Most shops now sell items made on a production line and goldsmiths often have to specialise in a particular aspect of the work, such as jewel setting. The artisan, on the other hand, has to master the art of doing everything, a process that can take 10 years.
Antonella Sicoli, a goldsmith with a much sparer style, set up her workshop near the Ponte Vecchio three years ago. Her work incorporates materials she has found on her travels, including jade from China and stones from India and Nepal. She produces forms of a startling simplicity, such as earrings made from discs of gold folded in a semicircle around black pearls, and a pendant formed from a ring of jade edged in gold. They are subtle, wearable and unique.
If you know little about jewellery, what should you look for? "Originality," Sara Martinelli, a 27-year-old goldsmith, answers without hesitation. "I don't want to say that I'm as good as Cellini but, like him, I treat what I do as art."
Gold basics
Getting there
Magic of Italy (
0870 027 0480
; www.magictravelgroup.co.uk) offers two nights' b & b in a central three-star Florentine hotel from £335 until December 18, including flights and transfers.
Gold in Florence
Stefano Alinari, Via San Zanobi 24r; pieces start at £1,200. Much less expensive are Alessandro Dari, Via San Niccolo 115r; Sara Martinelli, Belvedere Gioielli, Piazza Santa Maria Soprarno 1r (www.belvederegioielli.com); and Antonella Sicoli, Via Ramaglianti 4 (call 
0039 055 267 0602 for an appointment). Carla and Walter Romani's shop, Il Gatto Bianco, Borgo SS Apostoli 12r, has lovely pieces from about £70. Wonderful goldware can be seen in Florence at the Museo degli Argenti in the Palazzo Pitti and in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence. If you wish to learn the craft, the Alchimia Jewellery School, Via dell'Orto 35r (0039 055 223218; www.alchimia.it) offers diploma and short courses in contemporary goldsmith techniques.
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