Note 31 — IX LORETO TO THE BATHS OF LUCCA
W. G. (William George) Waters translation
In Tuscany the art of straw-plaiting is a very old one, dating from the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries. In the sixteenth it had attained great importance in Signa and the adjacent villages. Francesco Naldi and Domenico Michelacci, a Bolognese, were its chief promoters and the pioneers of foreign trade. It now exists chiefly in Fiesole, and though fallen off somewhat, is an important branch of industry.