Palazzo Pedra

There are addresses in Florence that carry a certain weight, streets where history has always chosen to reside. Lungarno Vespucci is one of them, and Palazzo Pedra, positioned on its most coveted stretch opposite the American Consulate, is a residence that lives up to every expectation the city places upon it. Occupying the entire piano nobile of a landmark Florentine palace, this extraordinary 475-square-metre apartment is one of the most remarkable private addresses in the city. 

Tall windows flood the principal rooms with the particular Florentine light that painters have chased for centuries, while a sweeping panorama stretches from Ponte Vecchio along the Arno to the Abbey of San Miniato al Monte and the green canopy of the Cascine Park. Few private residences in Florence offer a view of this breadth and pedigree, and none quite like this from a living room with a terrace above the river. The apartment accommodates up to ten guests across five beautifully appointed double bedrooms, each with a newly renovated en-suite marble bathroom. A private library overlooking the Arno, a grand dining room, a fully equipped kitchen, and a sequence of luminous reception rooms give the residence the ease and generosity of a private house rather than a city apartment. A sixth bedroom with its own bathroom is available for accompanying staff or a nanny, making Palazzo Pedra as practical as it is beautiful. The interiors carry the gravitas of a historic Florentine residence — generous proportions, refined finishes, and a quiet confidence that speaks of old money and impeccable taste. Yet every modern comfort has been considered: air conditioning throughout, high-speed Wi-Fi, marble bathrooms with Turkish baths and freestanding tubs, and a private terrace over the Arno for moments that deserve to be lingered over. 

The location is, simply, the finest in the city. Via Tornabuoni, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo are all within an easy stroll, while Santa Maria Novella station is just 150 metres from the door. Florence Airport lies seven kilometres away. The world's greatest open-air museum is, quite literally, on the doorstep. For a group of discerning friends or a family who wish to experience Florence not as tourists but as residents, with a river view that Brunelleschi himself would have envied, Palazzo Pedra is without equal.