Thread: Rome, Amalfi Coast, Capri: Any straight razor intelligence to share?

After a long hiatus, I will be returning to Italy for a little R & R. I will be going in an out of Rome (after a 3 hour layover in Frankfurt), but spending most of my time along the Amalfi coast and Capri.

Does anyone know of any straight razor related stuff about this area, whether it's barbers, shops, apothecaries, or custom makers?

Anything anyone could contribute will be greatly appreciated. Last I heard, Mastro Livi was still in Perugia, where I will not have time to go.

Cheers,

Jack

I will try to report to you all my experience. I think I've located a few through Yelp.

Cheers,

Jack

Here's the intelligence I gathered on my trip.

Amalfi -- Serretiello Renato, Corso delle Repubbliche Marinare, 21 84011 Amalfi Salerno, +39 089 871206. Senore Renato is an traditional barber. He was kind to make an appointment with me on Sunday morning, on short notice. All I wanted was a shave. I met him at his shop at 10 am, and he already had a good boar brush soaking in hot water. He worked up a good lather with Proraso, and worked all over my face. He used a Parker-style shavette razor. His first pass down my jaw was so light, I thought he had missed. His touch was precise and delicate. My italian is not the best, so we did not talk much. But, I told him about my Mastro Livi razor, and how much I enjoy trying to speak Italian. The shave was very comfortable -- the best I've had from a barber. Sr. Renato then used an old atomizer filled with Floid aftershave. It felt like a light fog of aftershave settled on my face like dew -- it felt great. He then offered to trim the hair off my simian neck, and I agreed. He used another razor for that, but I did not see what it was. Again, it was so delicate, it was over before I knew it. Another fog of Floid, and I was done. We exchanged names, farewells, and then, he indulged me with a photograph, expertly taken by what I believe was his grandson. I failed to ask if I could post this picture, so I will not post it here. I highly recommend a shave from Sr. Renato.

Rome -- MUZIO, 0185 Roma - Via Vittorio Emmanuele Orlando, 75. This place blew me away! It looked at first like a small, Italian version of Sur La Table, with high end, hard to find kitchen items. Then I looked closer and saw a few straight razors in the window, a few brushes and stands. When I went in, I saw an even nicer selection of razors including 3 or 4 Mastro Livi custom razors. One of the Mastro Livi razors was a giant, Sweeny Todd-looking chopper that was about 1 1/2 inches wide. They had more brushes than I've seen even on a website, all in a gleeming case. I highly recommend a visit to this store when you're in Rome. The people working in the store were very nice, and were kind to me about my child-like glee. I wish I had not been in a non-purchasing state when I saw this place. I discovered it at the end of my trip.



Muzio's outside window (outside, meaning the shop's outside, though this picture was taken of a display window that is just inside a small galleria off the street. You can't miss it, though. They also had a few Berti, and other Italian knife brands, and a few of the ubiquitous hammered-damascus VG-10 Wa-handled Japanese knives (Sakai-Takayuki, I believe). Next time, I'm dropping some coin in this place.

Cheers,

Jack

Mouthwatering...