Manifattura Tabacchi Florence
A new & innovative art space
The Manifattura Tabacchi used to be a tobacco factory in a peripheral area of Florence. In the last 20 years, this district has become less and less peripheral thanks to the events at the Parco delle Cascine, at the Teatro Puccini and, in the last year, at the Manifattura Tabacchi.
The Manifattura was built by Pier Luigi Nervi and Giovanni Bartoli in the 40s and consists of 16 buildings developed in 100,000 square meters. When the factory still functioned, the workers could find inside it a market, some maternity facilities and even a train station! The Teatro Puccini was part of it as its cultural and games area. So, it was kind of a city inside Florence. You can still feel the powerful presence of all these people who lived there. And if you look carefully, you can see some signs of it (no, I'm not talking about ghosts, but about some signs left by a pool table).
The factory closed in 2001 and only a few private events had been organised since then. But last, year something changed: a private company decided to invest in that area and to give it back to the city. So the Manifattura has become an innovative new space with a food hall, coffee shops, exhibition spaces, shops selling art & craft products, workshops for artists and children, coworking spaces, DJ set or concerts every week and also a movie festival.
I'm in love with this spot, so you can easily meet me there!
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