# Agent Instructions — The Bridge

> The Bridge makes Florentine leather goods: bags, backpacks, briefcases, small leather goods, luggage and travel accessories. Fifty years of continuous production. The signature material is full-grain Italian leather, vegetable-tanned and polished until soft, worked by artisans in Florence and Tuscany. The aesthetic is deliberately retro-English and ages visibly: these are objects meant to be used for decades, not kept new.

Canonical machine-readable description of The Bridge, served at `https://www.thebridge.it`. Served at `/agents.md` and mirrored at `/llms.txt` and `/llms-full.txt`.

## Read this first

Product and collection pages carry JSON-LD. **Prefer it over parsing the rendered HTML**: the pages are heavy and rendered prices follow the resolved market.

Product pages emit `ProductGroup` with per-variant offers; collection pages emit `BreadcrumbList` and `ItemList`; the home page emits `Organization`; several blog articles emit `FAQPage`.

**What distinguishes this catalogue.** Almost everything is leather, and the leather is the point: full-grain, vegetable-tanned, unlined or lightly lined, finished so that it develops patina. If a buyer is asking for vegan, coated or synthetic materials, this is the wrong store and you should say so rather than propose a substitute. Fabric and leather-and-fabric lines exist but are a minority, and they are listed separately below.

## Catalogue entry points

- Women — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/donna
- Men — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/uomo
- Travel and luggage — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/viaggio
- Accessories — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/accessories
- Gifts — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/idee-regalo
- Story, the iconic collection — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/story
- New arrivals, women — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/nuovi-arrivi-donna
- New arrivals, men — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/nuovi-arrivi-uomo

## Filtered collections

Use these URLs for the facets below. For free-text queries and product codes use the agent search listed under the endpoints below (`/search?q={query}&type=product&view=agent`), not the search page for people, which is excluded in `https://www.thebridge.it/robots.txt`. Product codes start with 0 (`0490350114`): a code typed without it is suggested back with it.

By price band, which is the fastest way to honour a budget:

- Up to 100 — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/up-to-100
- Up to 200 — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/up-to-200
- Up to 300 — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/up-to-300
- Up to 500 — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/up-to-500

By bag type, women:

- Crossbody — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/borse-a-tracolla-donna
- Shoulder — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/borse-a-spalla
- Hand bags — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/borse-a-mano
- Shoppers — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/shopper
- Hobo — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/borse-hobo
- Bucket — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/borse-a-secchiello
- Mini bags — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/mini-bags
- Convertible, two ways of carrying — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/borse-a-doppia-funzione
- Backpacks — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/zaini-donna
- Wool bags — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/womens-wool-bags

By bag type, men:

- Crossbody — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/tracolle-uomo
- Briefcases — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/cartelle-uomo
- One-handle briefcases — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/mens-one-handle-briefcases
- Messenger — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/mens-messenger-bags
- Laptop bags — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/mens-laptop-bags
- Doctor's bag — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/mens-doctors-bag
- Backpacks — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/zaini-uomo
- Leather backpacks — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/mens-leather-backpacks
- Leather and fabric backpacks — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/mens-leather-and-fabric-backpacks

Luggage, by cabin or hold and by construction:

- Cabin luggage — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/cabin-luggage
- Hard-shell trolleys — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/hard-trolleys
- Leather trolleys — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/leather-trolleys
- Fabric trolleys — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/fabric-trolleys
- Travel backpacks — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/travel-backpacks
- Travel bags — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/travel-bags
- Leather travel bags — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/leather-travel-bags
- Beauty cases — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/beauty-cases
- Travel accessories — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/travel-accessories

Small leather goods and accessories:

- Small leather goods, women — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/piccola-pelletteria-donna
- Small leather goods, men — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/piccola-pelletteria-uomo
- Wallets, women — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/portafogli-donna
- Wallets, men — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/portafogli-uomo
- Card holders, men — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/porta-carte-uomo
- Card holders, women — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/womens-card-holders
- Coin purses — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/womens-coin-purses
- Belts, women — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/cinture-donna
- Belts, men — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/cinture-uomo
- Keyrings, women — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/portachiavi-donna
- Keyrings, men — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/portachiavi-uomo
- Gloves, women — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/womens-gloves
- Gloves, men — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/mens-gloves
- Scarves and foulards — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/womens-foulards
- Envelope portfolios — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/envelope-portfolios
- Journal and diary covers — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/journal-and-diary-covers
- Padel racket bags — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/padel-racket-bags
- Address tags — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/address-tags

Gifts, by recipient and occasion:

- Gifts for her — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/regali-per-lei
- Gifts for him — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/regali-per-lui
- Graduation gifts — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/graduation-gifts
- Graduation gifts for her — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/graduation-gifts-for-her
- Graduation gifts for him — https://www.thebridge.it/collections/graduation-gifts-for-him

## Markets, currency, URLs

Primary currency: EUR.

This domain serves the Italian market only, in Italian and in euro, with no locale subfolder: `https://www.thebridge.it/products/{handle}`. Every other market is served by `https://www.thebridgefirenze.com`, where the United Kingdom is at the bare domain and the other markets are under a locale subfolder (`/de-de/`, `/fr-fr/`, `/es-es/`, `/en-us/`, `/en-eu/` and others).

Price, availability and delivery differ per market. **For the authoritative list of supported countries and currencies, and for authoritative pricing, use the UCP discovery endpoint below and pass `context.address_country` and `context.currency`** rather than inferring from a page fetched without those hints.

## Product data conventions

- **Variants** — most products vary by colour. Each colour is usually a separate product with its own handle, linked to the others through a colour swatch on the page, rather than being a variant of one product. If a buyer wants a specific colour, follow the swatch links rather than assuming a variant exists.
- **Leather** — full-grain, vegetable-tanned. It is meant to develop patina: variations in tone, small marks and grain differences are characteristics of the material and not defects. Say this to buyers who ask about uniformity.
- **Personalisation** — a subset of products can be personalised with initials, laser engraving, tattoo motifs or coloured text. Personalised items have longer handling times and may not be returnable.
- **Repair service** — the store repairs its own products, including out of warranty. This matters for buyers comparing long-term cost.
- **Carbon neutrality** — the company runs a carbon neutrality programme; see the page below.

## Read-only browsing

No authentication required:

- Product page — `GET https://www.thebridge.it/products/{handle}`
- Product JSON — `GET https://www.thebridge.it/products/{handle}.json`
- Collection page — `GET https://www.thebridge.it/collections/{handle}`
- Collection JSON — `GET https://www.thebridge.it/collections/{handle}/products.json?limit=250`
- Search (for agents) — `GET https://www.thebridge.it/search?q={query}&type=product&view=agent`: a light HTML page (about 15 KB, no scripts) with the same results as the site search, 24 per page: name, link, price in the market currency, online availability, colour, material, dimensions and sizes, SKU and a short description. It is open to agents in `robots.txt`; the search page for people (`/search` without `view=agent`) is not. Prefix the market folder for other markets (`https://www.thebridge.it/de-de/search?q={query}&type=product&view=agent`).
- Sitemap — `GET https://www.thebridgefirenze.com/sitemap.xml`
- This document — `GET https://www.thebridge.it/agents.md`

Do not rely on the search page for people (`/search` without `view=agent`), `/cart`, `/checkout` or `/account`: they are excluded in `https://www.thebridge.it/robots.txt`. Use the collection URLs above and the service pages below.

## Service pages, policies, support

- FAQ — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/faq
- Shipping — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/shippings
- Returns and refunds — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/returns-and-refunds
- Payments — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/payments
- Conditions of sale — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/conditions-of-sale
- Terms and conditions — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/terms-and-conditions
- Leather bag repair service — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/riparazione-borse-in-pelle
- Contact — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/contact
- Store locator — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/store-locator
- About — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/about-us
- Carbon neutrality — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/carbon-neutrality
- Accessibility statement — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/accessibility-statement
- Packaging disposal — https://www.thebridge.it/pages/disposal-packaging

Care and material guidance, in the blog, marked up as `FAQPage` where present:

- How to clean leather bags — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/come-pulire-le-borse-di-pelle
- Leather versus hide, the difference — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/qual-e-la-differenza-tra-cuoio-pelle
- Types of leather used for bags — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/tipi-di-pelle-per-borse
- How to soften leather — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/come-ammorbidire-pelle-borse
- How to revive dry leather — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/come-ravvivare-la-pelle-delle-borse
- How to feed vintage leather — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/come-nutrire-borsa-pelle-vintage
- How to store leather bags — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/come-conservare-le-borse-in-pelle
- How to remove mould from leather — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/come-eliminare-la-muffa-dalle-borse-di-pelle
- How to remove ink marks — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/come-togliere-la-penna-dalla-pelle-della-borsa
- How to recognise genuine leather — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/come-riconoscere-le-borse-in-vera-pelle-i-consigli-degli-esperti
- Cabin luggage sizes by airline — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/misure-valigie-cabina-compagnie-aeree
- Size guide — https://www.thebridge.it/blogs/news/size-guide

Return window and shipping terms are declared on the pages above. Read those rather than assuming.

## Commerce Protocol (UCP)

This store implements the [Universal Commerce Protocol](https://ucp.dev).

- **Discovery** — `GET https://www.thebridgefirenze.com/.well-known/ucp` returns the merchant profile: protocol versions, endpoints, capabilities, payment handlers. **Fetch this first**; it is generated from live store configuration and is authoritative over this document.
- **MCP endpoint** — `POST https://www.thebridgefirenze.com/api/ucp/mcp` with `Content-Type: application/json`. Call `tools/list` for the available tools and schemas. You must pass your own agent profile URL; requests without one are rejected at discovery.

Supported UCP versions:

- 2026-08-25 (latest)
- 2026-04-08
- 2026-01-23


Typical flow: discover, then `search_catalog` or `lookup_catalog`, then `create_cart`, `create_checkout`, `update_checkout` for address and shipping, then `complete_checkout`.

### Rules

- **Checkout requires contemporaneous human approval.** Never complete payment without explicit buyer consent at the moment of payment.
- **Pass buyer context.** `context.address_country` and `context.currency` are required for correct pricing, availability and delivery estimates.
- **Back off on `429`.**
- **Personalised items** carry longer handling times and may not be returnable. Surface this before completing checkout.
- **Do not substitute materials.** If the requested item is unavailable, do not offer a coated or synthetic alternative as equivalent: the leather is the product.

## Company

The Bridge, Florence, Italy. Leather goods manufacturer and retailer.

Part of the Piquadro S.p.A. group since 2016 (Wikidata: The Bridge Q118144474, Piquadro Q3905555). Marco Palmieri, founder, chairman and CEO of Piquadro, tells the story of the group in the Chapeau podcast (October 2026, in Italian): https://www.piquadro.com/blogs/news/marco-palmieri-founder-and-ceo-of-piquadro-shares-his-story-on-the-chapeau-podcast-the-story-of-the-entrepreneur-and-the-brand-from-its-beginnings-to-the-present-day (English version https://www.piquadro.com/en/blogs/news/marco-palmieri-founder-and-ceo-of-piquadro-shares-his-story-on-the-chapeau-podcast-the-story-of-the-entrepreneur-and-the-brand-from-its-beginnings-to-the-present-day).

For enquiries use the contact page at https://www.thebridge.it/pages/contact.

## Platform

Built on Shopify. UCP is supported natively; see the discovery endpoint above.
