Four Seasons - Florence

Visitors to Florence are often overwhelmed by its sheer beauty, so much so that there is a recognised medical condition, known as Stendhal Syndrome, to explain the rush of emotion that regularly sends tourists dizzy in the Uffizi. Such reactions are usually reserved for those gazing upon Michelangelo’s David, or seeing the sun glint off Brunelleschi’s cupola at the Duomo for the first time, not for those checking into a hotel.

But guests arriving at the Four Seasons Florence could be forgiven for experiencing similar symptoms. This is not so much a hotel as a living shrine to Renaissance art and architecture, set within the walled tranquility of Florence’s largest private garden.

It is housed in not one but two magnificent Renaissance palaces  – the 15th century Palazzo della Gherardesca, and the 16th century Conventino. Between them lies the Giardino della Gherardesca – 11 acres of ancient trees, immaculately groomed lawns and rare botanical specimens.

Previous residents of the buildings include a Pope (Leo XI, known as ‘the Lightning pope’ as he only lasted 26 days in the job), an order of nuns, Italy’s first railway company, and a Viceroy of Egypt (who reputedly sold it when his harem was barred from moving in), not to mention five centuries of Florentine nobility.

The palaces’ ornately painted and crafted interiors offer guests a rare opportunity to view 15th–19th century artworks in their original context. Frescoes, bas-reliefs, stuccoes and silk wallpapers have been carefully restored to reveal vivid detail dating back to the 1500s. Such beauty is not restricted to the public areas, with original Florentine art and craftsmanship on display throughout several of the hotel’s 117 guestrooms and suites.

Fingen Group, headed by brothers Corrado and Marcello Fratini, acquired the Conventino in 1999, followed by the Palazzo Della Gherardesca a year later. Transformation of this brace of buildings has taken seven years of painstaking restoration, carried out by Fingen’s development wing RDM srl, architects Studio Noferi, and
Magris & Partners, and interior designer Pierre Yves Rochon. It has all taken place under the watchful eye of Florence’s Soprintendenza Per Il Patrimonio Storico Artistico (Superintendant for Artistic Historical Patrimony), Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Culturali (Ministry for Fine Arts and Culture) and Sovraintendenza delle Belle Arti (Department of Fine Arts).

A look around the hotel feels more like a guided museum tour than the usual ‘showround’. We begin beneath the intricate bas-reliefs and stuccoes of the courtyard lobby, surrounded by porticoes and barrel vaults, decorated with a coffered ceiling comprising thousands of painted sunken panels.The artworks in this imposing 15th century space, commissioned by a member of the Medici family, are the most valuable throughout the hotel.

Viewing the artworks as we move on through the rest of the hotel provides a crash course in art history.

Just off the lobby, the former Chapel of the Palazzo has been converted to an intimate library / reading room, overlooked by 17th century frescoes depicting the Nativity and Adoration by Stravato. The Renaissance stuccos and bas-reliefs in the ground floor lobby and library areas give way to Late Baroque artworks in the suites and ballroom of the first floor, by artists such as Vincenzo Meucci and Giovanni  Domenico Ferretti. Elsewhere, Rococo frescoes by Baldassarre Franceschini are on display.

Each room is unique, with its own individual dimensions and window-sizes. There are original friezes and fireplaces, skylights and staircases, ceiling art, and stoves. Guestrooms have been designed by Pierre Yves Rochon in two colour schemes, yellow and green, with many of the restored speciality suites taking their identity from their individual historic and artistic details.

Back on the ground floor, the former stable block of the Palazzo della Gherardesca now houses the Il Palagio restaurant, where an original antique vaulted ceiling overlooks an impressive dining area accented with colours of pale silver and jade. In the heart of the dining area sits The Winery – an autonomous space separated from the main  restaurant by translucent armoires, each holding up to 400 bottles of wine.

Other dining options include an outdoor terrace accessed from Il Palagio via large French windows, and The Atrium, originally designed as a secondary courtyard but now covered with a glass roof, and used as a more informal bar / restaurant.

The Spa and Fitness Centre – also designed by Pierre Yves Rochon with a simple and elegant cream and black design, accented by classic artworks, statues and ornamental pillars – is located in separate building adjacent to the outdoor pool. Also located in the grounds is ‘La Villa’, a secluded standalone suite set within the convent’s former limonaria – a glasshouse where lemon trees were traditionally stored in winter.

Our tour finishes in The Conventino ‘hotel within a hotel’ at the far end of the gardens, where another 37 rooms and suites, are served by their own reception, concierge, breakfast room and business centre. The former church of the Conventino has been restored to its 19th century design, its towering, vaulted ceiling and painted walls providing further opportunities for guests to enjoy Renaissance art at close quarters, in what is undoubtedly one of Europe’s most beautiful hotels.

Four Seasons Florence
Borgo Pinti, 99 – 50121 Firenze, Italy
Tel:+ 39 055 26261
www.fourseasons.com/florence

Rooms 116 guestrooms & suites
Dining Restaurants: Il Palagio, Atrium Bar, La Magnolia Breakfast Room, Spa Lounge
Leisure Spa, Health & Fitness Centre, two swimming pools, Palazzo della Gherardesca Ballroom
Facilities seven meeting rooms and extensive outdoor conference & banqueting facilities