Upon entering there is a short corridor which leads one straight into the impressive dining-living room, with its immensely high coffered ceiling and traditional Tuscan terracotta floor; two very tall studio windows bestow great luminosity on the apartment as well as allowing a privileged view over the beautiful Antinori Palace Gardens. The walls of the living room are elegantly painted in trompe l’oeil to resemble further windows and traditional renaissance geometric patterns. There are two large sofas (one can pull out to become a double bed) and armchairs all furnished in a colour palette of cream, dusty blues and spice reds. To the far side of the living room is the dining area which seats six and leads into the spacious kitchen with decorative tiling and is complete with all modern amenities. On the opposite side of the living room a door opens onto a brief passage leading into the bedroom. Along the passage a spacious built-in cabinet with shelves is useful for storage purposes. The bedroom is quiet and cosy with a window looking out onto an internal courtyard. The large double bed (which can be made into twin beds) is covered in an elegant paisley patterned fabric in tones of rich blue as is the bed-stead. There is a pretty cupboard with ample space for hanging clothes. Just beyond the bedroom is an ante-chamber to the bathroom with a washbasin and a curtained closet with further storage. The floor tiles are hand painted green and run through to the bathroom which has a bath-tub with a hand held power-shower and heated towel rails. The apartment has an armoured door, independent heating, air conditioning, telephone (& hi speed connection) and buzzer, satellite TV, dishwasher, gas stove with four burners, electric oven, fridge, washing machine and comes supplied with two sets of linen. The apartment is served by a lift.

Palazzo Aldobrandini was built during the first half of the 14th century, at a time when the city of Florence began to expand beyond the boundaries of its ancient Roman nucleus. Messer Lapo, a member of the wealthy Aldobrandini family (that had made their fortune through the commerce of spices), commissioned it. Via delle Belle Donne was then an important commercial road which connected the Mercato Vecchio (the market square) and Via Strozzi to the Porta del Trebbio, the city door that led out towards the north. Although the Aldobrandini family was extremely wealthy, their fortunes were still greatly tied to trade and so it made sense to choose this particular location. With the opening of the new Ponte Santa Trinita bridge, several important palaces were built on the bridge’s continuation (now the Via Tornabuoni). Via Tornabuoni steadily gained importance and eventually Via delle Belle Donne became a side street. In the 19th century, Palazzo Aldobrandini housed many painters’ workshops which is probably why most of the flats have very large windows – the celebrated painter Ingres had his studio in one of the apartments.