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In the history, leather activity is undoubtedly one of the most remote human activities.

Leathers, obtained from hunting and breeding, were used to make clothes or curtains, but they had two disadvantages: they became rigid and putrefy themselves to low temperatures.
Here therefore the necessity to find of the solutions in order to make themselves unalterable.

It was begun, probably, to deal with them with fats in order to turn themselves more flexible and resistant.

An other ancient method was the blackening with smoke that, later on, turned in the tannery "to the aldehyde". Aldehyde is an element present in smoke vapours coming from the combustion of leaves or green branches.
Anyway, it was clear very soon that the most successful result could be reached with drying (putting goods to the sun or rubbing in salt). Even vegetable tanning was already known in the farthest ages, thanks to the tanning power of the tannin contained in bark of the some plants, mainly in the oaks.

One of the last known method is the tanning with alum. It is a mineral quite diffused in natural condition, particularly in the volcanic areas. It gave origin to the tannery "to alludes". These procedures, step by step more refined and effective, were the base of the employment possibility of the hides in the ancient world and they continued to be for centuries.

During the VIII century a.c., Moors conquered Spain. They developed the production of "Cordovan" leather. It’s a particular type of leather that became famous all over the Europe, because of important improvements in the tannery.
The ability to work the hides was not a prerogative of the western world, it is witnessed also in “ The Million” of Marco Polo. It tells that the Mongolian used leather flasks (canteen), blankets, masks and caps artistic decorated. Marco Polo coined the term “leather of Russia", in order to indicate that type of leather from the characteristic scent.

A sensitive improvement in the working processes was recorded in the XII century, so that from then, and until to the last century, did not occur substantial modifications in the tannery systems.

More or less in the medieval period it was discovered the depilating effect of the lime, a technique still in use. But a real upset, that contributed to record a remarkable productive improvement, occurred in the half of the 1800's with the discovery of the tanning power of chrome salts, that had practical application in the industrial production. An other revolutionary element was the substitution of the bathtubs for the tannery with the revolving drums, joined to the discovery of new types of tannins. All these innovations enabled to the reduction of the time for tanning.

Since the tannery industry had been an old and essential activity, it is found in the greater part of the countries of the world. The slaughtering of the animals and the commercialization of their products allow the tanneries to be present in different areas, even if the development, industrialization, the environmental impact etc... let specific areas to be born. It is nice to see that Santa Croce and Arzignano have been the real forerunner in this field, since other industrial centres grew up later. If we come back to the industrial history, we discover that the leather area in Tuscany has very deep roots: in fact, the first tannery was opened in the first half of the IX century in S. Croce Sull’ Arno, and from this event this centre founded its primary activity on leather on a world-wide scale.