Apartment Gaia is a truly remarkable, unique apartment located in the heart of Florence, just five minutes’ walk from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. It sits on the second floor of a landmarked Florentine palazzo enjoying its outstanding, privileged location inside the historic city centre. It faces the famous Cappelle Medicee which dates to the 16th and 17th centuries. Apartment Gaia offers three bedrooms, three bathrooms and exceptional living spaces which have been meticulously maintained for luxury living.
This grand and lavish apartment sits in Florence’s oldest neighbourhood with the Santa Maria Novella Rail station five minutes’ walk away. It is a fantastic location next to sophisticated shops, world famous museums, art galleries and the city’s finest magnificent wonders. Across the Arno River from the Pitti Palace, the Basilica of Santa Spirito and the Boboli Gardens, you will enjoy a feast of world-class art, gourmet Tuscan cuisine and romantic Renaissance architecture with masterpieces at every turn. Florence is enchanting, utterly irresistible, and totally captivating. It is easy to see why more than sixteen million visitors pour into the city each year, attracted by its culture, architectural heritage, and dining scene. This UNESCO World Heritage compact city is an open-air museum which allows you to gorge on 16th century palaces, medieval candle-lit chapels, marble basilicas, fresco adorned churches and world-class art museums.
Apartment Gaia is incredibly rich in decor. Your jaws will drop as you walk around this apartment. Its lavish living room enjoys comfortable sofas and chairs which sit with beautiful antiques and an exquisite original 18th century frescoed soaring ceiling, depicting an allegory of music. It offers an amazing, opulent space which will impress the most discerning of guests. Natural light floods the room through two oversized windows which face the Capelle Medicee.
The beautiful, frescoed library and tearoom is another fabulous spot to relax and unwind. The characterful dining room is home to the most important frescoed ceiling of the palazzo. Its lavish antiques, original oil paintings and Murano hand-blown glass chandelier make it a wonderfully grand space for formal dining. The kitchen is modern and spacious and offers a breakfast table for easy dining. There is also a handy laundry room.
Guests enjoy the sleep of kings in the master bedroom suite. It comes with a television, ensuite shower room and incredible detailing. The lavish queen size bed sits in an alcove enjoying an intimate ambience with the rest of the suite home to an opulent living area. A beautifully presented small single bedroom comes with an adjacent bathroom with an indulgent slipper bath. The final bedroom is a queen/twin room which is connected by a small staircase. It offers an ensuite shower room and is very lovely. All the bathrooms come with fluffy bathrobes and towels. You will definitely remember staying in Apartment Gaia!
What Oliver loves...
Apartment Gaia is lavish, grand and glorious with many original frescoes, fantastic vintage furnishings, exquisite detailing and luxurious comfort. You will feel so special staying here
The central city centre location of this wonderful apartment is just fabulous
The attention to detail in the apartment is incredible. You will eat in a grand dining room, lounge in fabulous style and sleep in wondrous spaces
What you should know
One of the bedrooms is a single. It is a lovely room but much smaller than the others
Each of the three bedrooms enjoys a fabulous ensuite bathroom. Even the single room enjoys a lovely slipper bath!
The Italian government might require a small Visitor’s Tax to be paid per person per day
The apartment comes with a porter service. If you want a housekeeping service there will be a small charge
Please note that the use of any external caterers and/or contractors is not permitted.
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The Local Area
About the surrounding area of Apartment Gaia
Walk to Village
<1hr to Airport
Walk to Restaurant
Apartment Gaia is a very special, lavish apartment that enjoys immense character on the second floor of a landmarked Florentine palazzo inside Florence’s historic city centre, facing the famous Cappelle Medicee. It is a fabulous central location for exploring this timeless, mesmerising city with one of the richest architectural heritages in the world and a renowned food culture. As well as being an open-air museum sprinkled with brilliant masterpieces, Florence is a city with a fantastic array of museums and art galleries and a city for sophisticated shopping. Italy’s fashion industry was born and bred in Florence with homegrown designers including Guccio Gucci and Salvatore Ferragamo. Their haute-coutre boutiques were opened in the 1920’s and Florence remains an A-lister fashion destination. As well as haute-coutre, you will discover wonderful family-run workshops, Florentine goldsmiths and shoemakers, artisan scents and fantastic food shops. Florence takes enormous pride in its gastronomy and the city is surrounded by wine-rich hills. You can visit market trattorias serving traditional bowels of ribollita, gelateries with delicious ice creams or fine dining restaurants where only the best ingredients will do. It is impossible not to be seduced by Florence and its many treats.
Apartment Gaia is just five minutes’ walk from The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, or Duomo which stands proud with its magnificent Renaissance dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. This enormous Gothic structure, named in honour of Santa Maria del Fiore, was built on the site of the 7th century Church of Santa Reparata, the remains of which are in the crypt. The cathedral was begun late in the 13th century by Arnolfo di Cambio with the dome added in the 15th century. The cathedral’s exterior is decorative pink, white and green marble. Inside, you will discover incredible mosaic floors, a 1443 clock designed by Paolo Uccello and Giorgio Vasari’s magnificent frescoes of the Last Judgment.
Across the river, The Pitti Palace was designed by Brunelleschi with the construction starting in the second half of the 15th century. The work was commissioned by the Florentine merchant Luca Pitti who wanted his residence to be the most impressive in the city. Pitti bought all the houses between his new palace and the footpath of the hill to construct the Boboli Gardens. Later, the palace was remodelled and expanded and during the 19th century Napoleon used it as a residence during his rule in Italy. Today, the palace is home to important collections of sculptures, paintings, costumes, and porcelain in a complex that includes several impressive museums. These are the Palatine Gallery, the Modern Art Gallery, a Costume Gallery, Silver Museum and Porcelain Museum.
During your stay, you should take a boat trip along the river. You can also enjoy a walking tour of the city when you will skip some the queues for some of the important wonders, including the Academy of Fine Arts and the Duomo. As well as seeing Michelangelo’s ‘David’ at the Academy of Fine Arts, you will also see his unfinished ‘Slaves’. During the walking tour, you will pass glamorous piazzas including the Piazza della Signoria with its towering Palazzo Vecchio, the wonderful, picturesque Ponte Vecchio Bridge, the leather market, Porcellino and an incredible collection of street art. Few cities are so compact in size and offer so many architectural gems.
The Region
Florence, a charming city located in the heart of Tuscany, Italy, is a place where history, art, and culture come alive. Nestled along the banks of the Arno River, this enchanting destination has captivated travellers for centuries with its timeless beauty and rich heritage.
Tuscany
With its rolling fields, historical heritage and a cuisine that’s a delight for all the senses, it’s no wonder Tuscany is one of the most popular regions in Italy for holidaymakers. Yet even with its popularity, you can still kick back in one of our luxury villas in Tuscany and feel peace, tranquillity and the joy of seclusion.
This is one destination that really does have a little bit of everything for everyone, whether you’re travelling with family, friends or are just looking for a romantic getaway with that special someone.
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