Residenza del Proconsolo ★★

A room at the Hotel Residenza del Proconsolo, Florence
A room at the Residenza del Proconsolo, Florence

A fantastic affittacamere (rental room) in a Renaissance palazzo with views of the Duomo

In Florence, it’s tough to find a decent standard hotel in the historic center for less than €120. So rooms at the Proconsolo—starting at €100 list, but down to €90 if you book online—are not only a good deal, they also come with the decided advantage of overlooking Brunelleschi's cathedral dome…and they do so from the canopied beds and high ceilings of a genuine Renaissance palazzo.

And you get breakfast in bed (or at least in your room).

No hotel even can match that.

Signor Mariano and his wife have long run a resort hotel on the Amalfi Coast, but wanted to raise their children in a city with better schools and a vibrant cultural and intellectual life. That meant wintering in Florence.

In 2000 they rented (then in 2004 bought) this gorgeous palazzo on the southeast corner of the Duomo square (and a few hundred yards up from the Uffizi; in short, a near-perfect location) that had once belonged to the Pazzi family, infamous for trying to assassinate the young Florentine prince and art patron Lorenzo "The Magnificent" de' Medici in the 15th century.

The Marianos renovated the palazzo themselves and now rent out five rooms of the old piano nobile (the "noble floor" of the building, usually second story, where the aristocratic family had their private quarters). They hung some modern abstract art on the walls, but otherwise the décor is full-bore Renaissance.

The best rooms—"Leonardo," with its canopy bed and tall windows, "Brunelleschi," with a poster bed and wrought-iron balcony—are on the front with high ceilings of thick wood beams and views of the cathedral a few dozen yards away.

The "Michelangelo" room is the largest, with old hexagonal floor tiles, another canopy bed, small marble fireplace, and a squishy sofa that's comfy but sort of spoils the décor (or perhaps makes it more homey).

The "Botticelli" and "Dante" rooms are both on an interior courtyard (more like giant air shaft, really).


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Details

Via del Proconsolo 18 - At the southeast corner of Piazza del Duomo, just a tad down Via del Proconsolo
tel. +39-055-264-5657
www.proconsolo.com
€€

Bus: C1, C2
Hop-on/hop-off: Stazione FS SMN(A, B), Piazza Stazione (C)

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Nearby...
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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
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Residenza del Proconsolo
★★ Via del Proconsolo 18 - At the southeast corner of Piazza del Duomo, just a tad down Via del Proconsolo
tel. +39-055-264-5657
www.proconsolo.com
€€

Bus: C1, C2
Hop-on/hop-off: Stazione FS SMN(A, B), Piazza Stazione (C)

» book



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