What is the vision behind SCHOLA Academy, and why was it created?
My background is in education and design. I served as director of IED Florence for about ten years, and of Accademia Italiana. Designing for the hand is very different from designing for machines, it requires understanding people, not just production systems. After leaving IED in 2019, I used the COVID period to rethink education and develop a new model. I presented it to the Gori family, connected to the Scuola del Cuoio (Leather School) in Santa Croce and the renowned shoemaker Stefano Bemer, and we created SCHOLA in 2020 as an ecosystem for artisanal education. At its core is the idea of synergy between intellectual and manual intelligence, which has become more or less our motto: the intelligence of the hands.
What role does SCHOLA play in Florence’s educational and artisanal landscape?
Tuscany has one of the highest concentrations of schools focused on artisanal crafts, but most focus on a single discipline. What distinguishes SCHOLA is its emphasis on dialogue between crafts. Hands have no language. We don’t talk about ‘Made by Italians,’ but ‘Made in Italy.’ I’m not interested – politically or socially – in where a person comes from. I’m interested in what they are able to create. Each year, we support this vision through scholarships and collaborations that bring diverse perspectives into the school.
SCHOLA collaborates with many entities in Florence, such as Cibrèo, Artex and Zero Lab. What is the importance of collaboration in the city?
These relationships developed very naturally, given the strong interest surrounding the world of craftsmanship. We aim to contribute to ensuring that Florence and Tuscany continue to be recognized for this sector.
How important is it for SCHOLA to be based in Florence and how does the city influence the student experience?
I believe there is no better city in the world to establish a school dedicated to crafts. There are many complementary institutions and districts: Scandicci for leather goods, San Miniato for vegetable-tanned leather, Prato for textiles and recycled fabrics, and just 10 km away is Ginori, one of the most renowned names in ceramics. We also work with perfumes, and Florence is one of the most relevant cities in Italy for that, with a dedicated fair, Fragranze, in September. Florence is a perfect platform. I always say that when lessons end, the masterclass begins. When students leave at 5pm and walk in any direction, they encounter artisanal workshops—so the real learning continues. The stimuli are present 24 hours a day.
What skills are most in demand today in craftsmanship, and how do you prepare students?
Our students tend not to enter companies but to start their own artisanal startups. Interestingly, our location previously hosted Nana Bianca, a digital startup hub, so it remains a place for new ventures. The demand for design skills remains strong. What we didn’t expect is that many students come not just to learn a craft, but almost to ‘heal.’ After years of working with Excel and PowerPoint, they want to prove to themselves that they can still create and transform something with their hands. This has very positive psychological effects. Humanity became Homo sapiens through the use of hands, and my concern is that a society that does not use its hands properly risks regressing. In this sense, what we are doing is a small revolution. We believe, in our own small way, that this is a response to concerns about artificial intelligence.
