Quality first, design second
Designer-name leather (Louis Vuitton, Prada) sells brand. Italian and Spanish artisan leather sells material — vegetable-tanned, hand-stitched, full-grain. Both have their place; the cities below let you choose.
Florence
Florence Scuola del Cuoio (the leather school inside Santa Croce friary, founded 1950) plus dozens of independent ateliers. Bags €200–800 quality far above any high-street brand. Vegetable-tanned local saddle leather. Machined production also strong (Cellerini, Il Bisonte, Madova for gloves).
Madrid
Madrid Loewe (the Spanish heritage house) flagship, plus Capas Seseña, Castellanos Atelier. Spain produces more leather than Italy at industrial scale — supply chain advantage shows in lower prices for equivalent quality. Dependent on house.
Paris
Paris Hermès Faubourg Saint-Honoré (the global Holy Grail leather destination), Goyard, Moynat, Delvaux. Allocation lists for Birkin/Kelly mean access matters more than price. Smaller shops in Le Marais for Parisian artisan brands like Maison Père.
Milan
Milan Prada flagship, Bottega Veneta (intrecciato leather), Tod's. Milan strong on industrial-luxury Italian leather. Smaller leather artisans cluster in Brera and the Galleria district.
Cordoba
Cordoba historic leather embossing (cordobán — the city gave its name to the leather technique). Smaller souvenir-scale today, but artisan workshops still operating. Day-trip from Sevilla.
Naples
Naples Pellettieri di Napoli (a designation, not single shop) + scattered ateliers. Less famous than Florence but Naples' tailoring tradition extends to leather.
Strategy
Vegetable-tanned leather develops patina over years; chrome-tanned starts gorgeous but ages flat. Ask which type. €100–300 well-made bag from Florence outlasts €1,000 high-street. Customs limits — UK/USA tax-free under £390/€800.