 | | A. Ugolini
and Sons A historic shop in the heart of Florence Florence is a city
that always excites emotions. Whether this is the effect of its artistic
treasures, the old city centre with its countless reminders of history
on every corner, or a reflection of the character of its inhabitants,
who consider it, and quite rightly too, to be incomparable and utterly
unique. A stroll along Via Calzaiuoli, one of the few traffic-free
streets in Florence, is always an unforgettable experience. It is
therefore no coincidence that the old firm of drapers, "A. Ugolini and
Sons", a part and parcel of the city's history, is situated right in
this road. A new shop was opened in
1932 for Arturo's other son, Luciano. The first and oldest shop sold
men's underwear, knitwear, ties, shirts and gloves while the other
specialized in a more casual and sporting style of men's wear. This
second shop already existed some time before it was taken over by the
Ugolini family and, for many years, the Florentines continued to call it
Giurlani's, the name of the former proprietor, who was none other than
the father of Aldo Palazzeschi, who wrote under his mother's name.
However Arturo Ugolini remained the real charismic head of the firm; a
man with an inventive and witty mind and an inborn instinct for public
relations, whose inspired wisdom transformed him at times into a
protagonist, whatever the circumstances. When one of his clients
complained that he couldn't find the pullover in just the right shade of
blue he wanted, Arturo replied that the only real blue he knew of was
"Celeste (Celestial=Blue) Aida". Florence is a city that excites emotions, Via dei
Calzaiuoli a street that is part of its history; Ugolini is a name that
seems to epitomise emotion and history, for both the client as well as
the most inattentive visitor. |
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The shop was opened in 1896 by Arturo Ugolini, great
grandfather of the present owner, in partnership with Ugo Tonissi. In
1911, the firm was awarded a very special prize in London as being the
firm that best represented the traditional English taste on the
Continent of Europe. The partnership continued until 1921, when Tonissi
retired, to be replaced by the owner's son, Ugolino Ugolini, who had a
glorious past behind him as an officer in the 1915-18 war. Ugolino gave
his imaginative father his full support by making sure that the
reliability, quality, perfect service and English characteristics so
typical of the firm continued in the future. 
Later, during the Fascist period, he
helped a barber, who had been sacked by the regime because he did not
have a party card, by buying him a shop. In 1938, when Hitler was due to
visit Florence, he was ordered to get rid of the "English style"
furnishings and contents of the shops. Arturo refused and the firemen,
armed with axes, smashed both places to bits. His grandson Franco, who
had only recently joined the firm, comforted the old man's desperate
tears by promising to restore the shops to their former glory as soon as
he could. This promise was finally kept - though after Arturo's death -
after the terrible flood of 1966, when cultured and witty Franco, now
the owner, had the original classical furnishings and interiors of the
shops restored. The older shop at n. 65r now specialized in men's wear
only, with ladies' wear at n. 68r. For ten whole days, clients coming to
the newly opened shops were welcomed by a huge celebratory
buffet.
Niccolò Ugolini, the present proprietor and Franco's
son, has brought plenty of new ideas to the firm with him though without
forgetting its historic past. The firm is still well known for its
efficiency and research into the best in men's and ladies' fashions.
People entering Ugolini's shops find themselves in an environment that
blends sobriety, elegance, severity and style with the warm colours of
their wood furnishings and refined English atmosphere combined with
Italian good taste; the atmosphere is seasoned with that special touch
of irony that appears to be one of the Ugolini family's indispensable
characteristics.