RESIDENZA DI FIRENZE

Fell in love with this place the second afternoon, after tromping around the Mercato Centrale for meats, cheeses, breads, honey, etc. Came back to the apartment, opened the living area windows wide, and dozed on the couch while people milled on the piazza below and guitar & accordion music wafted up through our window. THIS is why you come to Italy!

Perfectly situated, 5 min to the train station, 10 to the market, 5 to the grocery store, 5 to the laundry.

I have already recommended this place to two other people. Hope to return someday!

Chicago, Illinois

It was our first trip to Florence and we were enraptured. The apartment is in a wonderful location and Chiara and her charming mother met us at the apartment and made us feel very welcome.

Their attention to detail through out the booking process was fantastic and they were just as helpful and charming in person...even telling us where to buy the best ice cream! We loved entering into our own private space just off the square and the views from the windows were magnificent. We felt so at home it was difficult to drag ourselves out to explore the city! the apartment was clean,well cared for and well equipped. The position of the apartment with regard to the railway station is fantastic. Can't wait to return and would recommend it to all our friends and family!

London, UK

More than 30 years after our first visit to Florence we found, on the Piazza Sta. Maria Novella, the perfect apartment in which to live like a Florentine. The warm welcome by the owner set the tone for the entire two-week stay.

The apartment was modern and tastefully furnished for easy living with the kitchen having everything needed to take advantage of the nearby Mercato Centrale’s fresh pasta, tasty sauces, aged cheeses and wonderful “cereale” breads. Our comfortable beds (with good reading lights) afforded a sound night’s sleep after a long day of sightseeing, and awakening to the sight of the beautiful SMN church façade and the piazza below was a pleasant way to start each day.

The prime location of this apartment—within easy walks of the more distant touristic sites in central Florence, e.g. the Museo di San Marco and Accademia or the Piazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato al Monte—adds much to the pleasure and convenience of living there. Once familiar with a few of the main streets and byways, major destinations like the Duomo, Uffizi, and Ponte Vecchio are only moments away.

Washington state

My wife and I just returned from an 9 day visit to Florence. We stayed at this lovely apartment and were exceptionally pleased in every way. The building itself is well located and well maintained. It is within 5 minutes of most major attractions and no more than 10-15 minutes from even the Pitti Palace. The apartment is bright and airy which is unlike many other places that we have stayed in Italy. It does have drapes and shutters to allow for restful sleep. It directly overlooks Piazza Sant Maria Novella, but has double paned windows which makes the apartment extremely quiet. It is furnished very comfortably and has all the major appliances that you would want. The heating system was superb. The apartment was spotlessly clean and well cared for. Beyond the excellence of the apartment and building, the owners of the apartment are wonderful people to deal with. They are very attentive to e mail exchanges while setting up your travel plans. More over, they are truly knowledgeable about Florence, generous of their time, and prepared to help you in anyway necessary at any time. Fortunately because everything was so well set up at the apartment, we had no need to call on them during our stay, but we am absolutely certain that if a need had arisen, they would have been of immediate assistance. In short, this is a gem of an apartment that we would strongly recommend.

The apartment is beautifully decorated, sparkling clean and airy and was a perfect size for my husband and I. It is situated on the second floor with a lift, which you definitely need after a day walking around Florence! It has fantastic air conditioning, large windows and the perfect view of S Maria Novella Church. It was wonderful to sit at the dining table with the windows open in the morning watching the world go by and seeing the sun shining on the church. 
Many of the streets in Florence are narrow. Having the piazza in front of the apartment, however, gives a feeling of space which hasn’t been the case in other apartments we have visited. 
There is a lovely large comfortable bed, hot shower and easy to use hair dryer. We didn’t cook in the apartment but there is a large fridge, cooker, microwave and plenty of crockery and utensils. I particularly like the dish drainer that is part of a cupboard. Great idea.
The apartment is well situated for sight seeing in Florence. We were amazed to find that the Duomo is about a 5-minute walk away.

This was our favorite apt. of our two week trip to Italy. We are a family of 4 and stayed in the Battista apartment (the two bedroom). It is absolutly beautiful, comfortable, quiet and the location cannot be beat. We travelled to Italy for the first time with our two teenagers and it was a perfect spot for our all! Chiara goes out of her way to ensure a wonderful visit, they even leave detailed info on sights to see and restaurants to visit. We ate at as many as we could and they were all outstanding! We envision future visits to Florence and would love to stay in Battista apt again and maybe even Leon apt when we don't have our kids! I strongly recommend this wonderful apt. you will be so happy you stayed. Thank you Chiara and family for making the last part of our trip the best!

Laguna Niguel, CA, USA

I rented the Battista apartment for a week in May, and I found the previous reviews for it to be true. First of all, I was looking for a quiet place downtown, and indeed I found the apartment to be very quiet as the windows look into the courtyard. Secondly, the apartment looks indeed as in the picture: it's clean, big and nicely decorated with paintings. It's also very well furnished, and some of the furniture has artistic value too. The apartment is so well equipped that you won't need to worry about anything! You will find everything there, from kitchen utensils to iron / hairdryer and DVD player etc. etc.
So lots and lots of extra. We even found coffee refills for the espresso machine which were very useful since we had to leave early on two excursions. Another great thing about this place is indeed its proximity to the railway/bus station while being quiet. So if you plan to stay in Florence, and go on a couple of excursions, as we did, this is the best place to choose.

Ottawa, Canada