Historic hotels in Florence
Italian hotels that claim the title "Residenza d'Epoca" wear their history on their sleeve—or rather display it in their frescoes, antique furnishings, and primo Renaissance palazzo locations
In a town like Florence, where most of the buildings in the historic centers were built well before the 18th century (and even most of the "modern ones" are more than 100 years old), it might seem a bit odd to single out a category of "historic hotels."
This most bona fide Renaissance castle experience of any hotel in Italy, with 16 period rooms of historic, genuine medieval furnishings and appointments hidden amid a warren of echoing halls and flying stone staircases down which you expect to see Errol Flynn come swashbuckling at any moment. There's an amazing close-up panorama of the city just across the olive groves beyond the swimming pool...
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This tiny residence hotel in an 18th century building near the
Medici Chapels and
San Lorenzo leather market has just four rooms and two suites—and only one of them is not richly frescoed. Rooms also come with all the mod cons: free WiFi, A/C, TV, etc. With such style and grace and an unbeatable location, I'm really not sure why it's such a bargain. Who cares: just book it fast...
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This place is amazing: a 14th century palazzo actually located right on the
piazza surrounding the
Duomo (around on the back side, practically right underneath the famous dome). The interiors are slathered in frescoes under wood-beamed ceilings and fitted with sumptuous Renaissance-style furnishings. It simply doesn't get more elegant than this. Quite frankly, I'm shocked that double rooms at this hotel start at only €180, and that they top out at just €350 for a "Deluxe." Sure, that's a lot of money, but for a room this gorgeous, bang in the center of town, it's practically a steal...
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The peaceful air this place exudes recalls its origins in the 15th century as a Franciscan monastery, but I doubt the good friars had a heated outdoor pool or Jacuzzis in their cells. The facade was reputedly designed by Michelangelo, and everything is in shades of creamy yellow with soft gray pietra serena accents. The regular rooms are all in the main buildings, with modern junior suties dug into the hillside behind it, snuggled into the slopes between the terraces that host the swimming pool and formal gardens (several junior suites enjoy their own mini-gardens or tarraces)...
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Fantastic little hotel with 17th-century frescoes all over the ceilings and walls. In 2002, rising rents forced the kindly owner of this venerable inn (established in the 19th century) to move up the block into the piano nobile of a neighboring 15th-century palazzo...
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If you want the feel of actually living in a Renaissance palazzo—not just an old building that has been fixed up as a hotel—grab an iron canopy bed in Giancarlo and Sabina Avuri's gem of a joint in Florence's main shopping district, just a block off the Arno river and a few blocks over from the
Uffizi and
Palazzo Vecchio. Ask for your sunset cocktails to be served atop the tallest privately owned tower in town, built in 1280 and featuring a jaw-dropping 360-degree panorama over the heart of historic Florence and the surrounding hills...
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Checking into the Morandi is like stepping back in time to an elegant
pensione of yesteryear. It's owned by an Irishwoman (though, in her nineties, she no longer runs the place), and the home-like rooms are installed in the wood-beamed—and, in a few spectacular cases, frescoed—chambers of a 1511 Dominican convent. It's also one of the quietest hotels in all of Florence, away the most tourist-trammeled streets yet just a block from Piazza SS. Annunziata (a five-minute walk from
The David in the
Accademia Gallery)...
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You can live like the nobles of yore in rooms with 15-foot ceilings whose 10-foot windows and oversize antique furniture are proportionately appropriate. (Franco Zeffirelli used it—pre-renovation—for some scenes in
Tea with Mussolini.) The highlight is the monumental roofed veranda where you can take breakfast, or just relax and drink in the views over Piazza Santo Spirito.
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The Loggiato offer the chance to live in some of the Renaissance city's great architecture: an Antonio da Sangallo the Elder–designed original, built in 1527 to match the arcades of Brunelleschi's famous Ospedale degli Innocenti across the piazza. (A scene from
Room with a View was even filmed under the loggia.)...
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Giovanni Dupré was one of the greatest sculptors in 19th century Italy, and his descendants have filled this 14th-century palazzo with several of his pieces. Antique furnishings, original painted beam ceilings, and a private-home feel go along with the fine art to make this one of the most genuinely elegant hotels in Florence—as opposed to most (overpriced) luxury properties where lavish expenditures are used as a substitute for class. The garden is lovely, the Renaissance lounges are gorgeous, and the rooms are spacious and loaded with antique style...
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The Brunelleschi undoubtedly has one of the best locations in town: on a quiet hidden courtyard of a forgotten side-alley in the very heart of the pedestrian zone, halfway between the
Duomo and
Piazza Signoria/
Uffizi (top floor rooms catch a glimpse of the
cathedral dome). It's an upscale hotel with modern rooms installed in collage of ancient structures, including a dramatic 6th century round tower at the center, one of the only remnants of the city's Dark Ages fortifications. Staff can be standoffish...
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Simply welcoming and comfortable atmosphere in this 16th century palace. Everything is a bit worn, but there's a concerted effort to furnish the rooms with period pieces. The dining room is sunny, and the lunches and dinners are well prepared. In summer, you can take breakfast on a terrace bursting with flowers and a view of the Bellosguardo hills.
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Residenze d'Epoca
In 1999, a new hotel association in Italy formed called "Residenze d'Epoca," (www.residenzedepoca.it), devoted not only to highlighting accommodations of particular historical interest, but also banding together to preserve and promote Italy's artistic and historic patrimony (when you book at any member hotel, 10% of the proceeds to go promoting historical tourism).
If nothing else, the member hotels are virtually all stunners—castles and abbeys, medieval villages and Renaissance palaces, country villas and elegant townhouses, as well as farmhouses, hamlets, and other historic homes.
The group also makes it easier for those planning groups or events, highlighting those properties that offer meeting space and those that can arrange to host weddings.
Peruse the members at Residenzedepoca.it, or go straight to booking those in Florence with our partner site Booking.com.
Tips & links
Booking historic hotels in Florence
Florence hotel & lodging links
Useful Italian for lodging
| English (Inglese) |
Italian (Italiano) |
Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
| Good day |
Buon giorno |
bwohn JOUR-noh |
| Good evening |
Buona sera |
BWOH-nah SAIR-rah |
| Good night |
Buona notte |
BWOH-nah NOTE-tay |
| Goodbye |
Arrivederci |
ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee |
| Excuse me (to get attention) |
Scusi |
SKOO-zee |
| thank you |
grazie |
GRAT-tzee-yay |
| please |
per favore |
pair fa-VOHR-ray |
| yes |
si |
see |
| no |
no |
no |
| Do you speak English? |
Parla Inglese? |
PAR-la een-GLAY-zay |
| I don't understand |
Non capisco |
non ka-PEESK-koh |
| I'm sorry |
Mi dispiace |
mee dees-pee-YAT-chay |
| |
|
|
| Where is? |
Dov'é |
doh-VAY |
| ...a hotel |
un albergo |
oon al-BEAR-go |
| ...a B&B |
un bed-and-breakfast |
oon bet hand BREK-fust |
| ...a rental room |
un'affittacamera |
oon ah-feet-ah-CAH-mair-ra |
| ...an apartment for rent |
un appartamento |
oon ah-part-tah-MENT-toh |
| ...a farm stay |
un agriturismo |
oon ah-gree-tour-EES-moh |
| ...a hostel |
un ostello |
oon oh-STEHL-loh |
| |
|
|
| How much is...? |
Quanto costa? |
KWAN-toh COST-ah |
| a single room |
una singola |
OO-nah SEEN-go-la |
| double room for single use [will often be offered if singles are unavailable] |
doppia uso singola |
DOPE-pee-ya OO-so SEEN-go-la |
| a double room with two beds |
una doppia con due letti |
OO-nah DOPE-pee-ya cone DOO-way LET-tee |
| a double room with one big bed |
una matrimoniale |
OO-nah mat-tree-moan-nee-YAAL-lay |
| triple room |
una tripla |
OO-nah TREE-plah |
| with private bathroom |
con bagno |
cone BAHN-yoh |
| without private bathroom |
senza bagno [they might say con bagno in comune—"with a communal bath"] |
SEN-zah BAHN-yoh |
| for one night |
per una notte |
pair OO-nah NOH-tay |
| for two nights |
per due notti |
pair DOO-way NOH-tee |
| for three nights |
per tre notti |
pair tray NOH-tee |
| Is breakfast included? |
É incluso la prima colazione? |
ay in-CLOO-soh lah PREE-mah coal-laht-zee-YOAN-nay |
| Is there WiFi? |
C'é WiFi? |
chay WHY-fy? |
| May I see the room? |
Posso vedere la camera? |
POH-soh veh-DAIR-eh lah CAH-mair-rah |
| That's too much |
É troppo |
ay TROH-po |
| Is there a cheaper one? |
C'é una più economica? |
chay OO-nah pew eh-ko-NO-mee-kah |
Other useful links & resources
plane
train
automobile
- Car resources
- Emergency service/tow: tel. 803-116
- Highway agency: Autostrade.it (traffic info, serivce areas, toll calculator, weather)
- Italian automotive club (~AAA): Aci.it
- ZTLs: Ztl-italia.blogspot.com (lightly outdated, but handy, links to cities' traffic-free zones)
bus
ship
- Transport Florence—Livorno cruise terminal
- Viator.com (private car: 90 min, €40–€260)
- Trenitalia.com (train: 68–100 min, €9.10) + Livorno port-station transfer (€1 bus; €20–€30 taxi)
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