You can certainly assert that this is the oldest Florence's Bottega handed down from father to son.

In the current Verdi street, at the time via del Fosso, so called in memory of a moat adjacent to the ancient city walls and adjacent to the back of the sixteenth century church of Niccolò di Bari called del Ceppo, the current building that houses the "Bottega". The shop has remained unchanged through centuries, resisting two floods that flooded it on November 3, 1844 and November 4, 1966.

Historical context:

At the time Florence was governed by Cosimo III de 'Medici.
At that time, the barber was also a hairdresser, speziale, tooth drawer, phlebotomist, perfumer, hairdresser and make-up artist both for women and men.

This was the era in which the wig, a legacy of the '600 and accessory in increasing evolution, was used by nobles, ladies, knights and servants. Suffice it to mention "Figaro" the most famous barber of all time to get a historical idea of the work in that period.
At the same time, the need to "transform" itself due to the increasing stage requirements, gave the Bottega a theatrical impression.
Already the theater of that era saw the presence of Filistrucchi in the major Italian theaters and in many Florentine scenic spaces. Some of these spaces are now "lost" or transformed by time. Such as: the Teatro del Cocomero in 1859 became Teatro Niccolini, the Borgognissanti Theater in the homonymous street, the Teatro della Quarconia (National) in Via dei Cimatori, the Teatro Politeama then Teatro Comunale, the Teatro Pagliano today Teatro Verdi (a two steps from the Bottega), and further on: the Teatro della Fiaba, the Teatro di via Laura, demolished in 1959, the seat of the Theater University Center which saw the first steps of the young move: Alfredo Bianchini, Franco Zeffirelli, Paolo Poli and many ... famous today. From the beginning of the activity up until today, the Bottega has supplied and supplies wigs and make-up to companies and artists guests of the magnificent Teatro della Pergola: ...
Ermete Zacconi, Eduardo de Filippo, Giorgio Albertazzi, Anna Proclemer, Romulus Valli, Alberto Lionello, Rossella Falk, Giorgio De Lullo ... Last but not least, we like to remember the "Academy of Smalls" founded by Tea De Seras and Dino Parretti. There are still many important theaters that have seen the presence of Filistrucchi behind the scenes: the Teatro alla Scala, the Teatro Comunale of Florence and Bologna, the San Carlo, La Fenice, the Petruzzelli, the Stabile di Genova, the Piccolo di Milano , and again the Metropolitan Opera of New York and the Opera of Boston. Many and varied were the great personalities of drama, music and dance, along with less known "Filodrammatica" and young promises that in many years have passed from the Bottega that too would be to list them all.

Among the most famous opera singers we remember:

Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Fedora Barbieri, Tito Gobbi, Alfredo Kraus, Mario Del Monaco, Piero Cappuccilli, Luciano Pavarotti ... and others, with whom a relationship of authentic friendship was born as well: Ettore Bastianini, Renato Bruson, Gino Bechi ... and further on: Aldo Reggioli, Paolo Washington ... that even out of the scene they used to frequent the Bottega as a meeting place to continue to talk about the show and not just that. This custom is still maintained.

Since the first "Maggio Musicale Fiorentino", inaugurated on 23 April 1933 with Nabucco, Filistrucchi collaborated with the most famous directors and figurines (De Chirico, Maccari, Casorati ...) in the setting up of sumptuous shows. Recall "A Midsummer Night's Dream" set up in the magnificent setting of the Boboli Gardens in '33, "The Giants of the Mountain" also in Boboli in the "May" of '37, "Armida" (MMF 1952) with Maria Callas scene and costumes by Alberto Savinio (De Chirico). The sumptuous "Aida" of 1969 with figurines by Prince Enrico D'Assia, "Orpheus" by Monteverdi, music by Luciano Berio, with scenes and costumes by Pier Luigi Pizzi, set up in the courtyard of Palazzo Pitti and then in Piazza Santo Spirito. Last but not least the collaboration with Franco Zeffirelli in the preparation of his unforgettable "Traviata" of 1984.

In 1936 we find the work of the company Filistrucchi at the Teatro Regio in Parma with Andrea Chenier, The Astuzie di Bertoldo (by Luigi Zancarini and O. Luccarini on music by Luigi Ferrari Trecate), Carmen, Aida, Francesca da Rimini, Maria Egiziaca and Gianni Schicchi.

Cinema and television:

With the beginning of the first film productions, Filistrucchi collaborates with the Rifredi plants (the first real film establishments in Italy) for "Frate Francesco" interpreted by Alberto Pasquali in 1926. Later, in 1934, the Tirrenia plants were built by Gioacchino Forzano, he works on the production of numerous films: "Campo di Maggio", "A sailor has landed" with Amedeo Nazzari and Doris Duranti, "II Pirata sono io" with Erminio Macario. "La congiura de 'Pazzi" with Paolo Stoppa, "Signor Bonaventura" by Sergio Tofano with Paolo Stoppa and Silvana lachino.We already in the pre-war period we find Filistrucchi in Cinecittà, in '41 with "La cena delle beffe" by Alessandro Blasetti .

The work of Filistrucchi in the world of cinema and television continues today working with famous directors and actors such as Takeschi Kitano in "The Story of Three Cities" where Kitano played the role of Niccolò Macchiavelli filmed in 2001 between Florence and Rome for the Japanese TBS.
In 2001 and then in 2003 Filistrucchi collaborated with Brando Quilici for makeup and special effects in the two documentaries on Ötzi, the man of Similaun ("The Mistery of the Iceman" and "Iceman: Hunt for a Killer") for the Discovery Channel. Collaboration that in 2011 is renewed for the third film for the National Geographic.
In 2004, on the occasion of the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Florentine University, Filistrucchi collaborates with the University of Florence in the realization of the wigs and make-up for the staging of the Opera "il Re Bello" musiced by Maestro Roberto De Simone with costumes by Odette Nicoletti.
We remember the collaboration with Alberto Angela on the occasion of the documentary on Bernini, Borromini and Van Wittel for "Ulisse, the pleasure of Discovery" where he recreates, with make-up and wigs, the iconographic image of these great artists.
Recently, Filistrucchi also collaborates with important Wax Museum for the production of beard and mustache wigs, meticulously recreating the hairstyles of historical figures of the past, as well as those of the most famous modern personalities.

The production of the shop:

The artisanal production is not only addressed to the entertainment world but is also specialized in the prosthetic sector for tricolesi subjects; or in cases where there is need to apply wigs, hairpieces and the like as a result of baldness, trauma or cycles of care that generate hair loss. Customized works are carried out for every type of requirement, using carefully selected Italian natural hair and top quality materials, recreating with meticulous care typical of craftsmanship, the perfect reproduction of the original.

The Filistrucchi library as a source of study:

After careful research in their library, one of the most complete on these issues, are reproduced various types of historical wigs, vintage wigs, performed with the ancient craft processing systems, wigs for antique dolls, collaborating more often with museums, antique dealers , restorers, demonstrations, courtships and historical re-enactments.
In the last thirty years the art of make-up, a constantly evolving sector and indispensable complement to the perfect "scenic illusion", has seen the Bottega make-up artists at work in the newest fields of the show such as television, photography, fashion, with always new and refined techniques and special effects. In makeup, as a stage metamorphosis, the Filistrucchi team operates both directly and through advice and teachings in every sector of this particular art. The perfect knowledge and the constant search for new materials allows us to use and distribute highly professional products for every need, guaranteed by the name of the most accredited Italian and foreign manufacturers of professional cosmetics. In fact, it is possible to find a wide range of make-up products for any need from Filistrucchi. In the "aesthetic" make-up also intended as correction and covering of skin imperfections, (couperose, angiomas, scars, etc.) excellent final results are guaranteed, deriving both from the high quality of the products and from the simple application system. In this sector, Filistrucchi collaborates with various hospitals. Specialized magazines and schools increasingly use the professionalism of the Bottega and its make-up artists who, through articles, seminars, conferences, lectures, courses of instruction and advice, transmit, where necessary, their own experience.

Acknowledgments:

The Bottega has been awarded the title of "Historical Enterprise of Italy" by Unioncamere and is included in the "Register for Historical Exercises" established by the Municipality of Florence, as a shop and an ancient activity of significant historical, artistic and typological interest. The shop is a member of the Association of Traditional and Typical Florentine Historical Exercises.
In Filistrucchi, the title of "Tuscan Artisan Master" was also conferred by the Chamber of Commerce of Florence. Title that qualifies him, in his field, as a teacher of artistic craftsmanship. Filistrucchi is also a Bottega Scuola recognized by the Tuscany Region (n ° BS0983) for the professional training of students.

The ancient tradition of wigs combined with make-up has handed down through the centuries, from generation to generation, the ancient secrets of the trade, which together with the newest and most modern discoveries, allows today, in an era of industrial massification, to guarantee HIGH QUALITY ARTISAN.