Milu Hotel opens in Florence’s fashion district next month inside a townhouse that dates back to the 1400s. But the space has a surprisingly modern character…

It is housed inside a cluster of buildings on Via de’ Tornabuoni that was built for the city’s bourgeois elite. They were converted into a single palazzo by artist and architect Giovan Battista Silvestri in 1835.

But time has been tough on the five-story structure: ‘The building was in poor shape when we started work on it and has therefore gone through major renovations,’ says architect David Ohayon who designed the hotel’s interiors.

Ohayon retained its historic facade and 19th-century stone staircase but has transformed the interior spaces. ‘I wanted to give its interiors a contemporary feel rather than another neoclassical design,’ he says. ‘The building’s signature features set the perfect background for a mix between past and present’.

The staircase acts as an artery connecting all floors while doubling as a vertical gallery space for Milu’s art collection, which includes works by Galia Gur Zeev, Inbar Algazi, Maya Gelfman, and Carmel Ilan, all offered for sale.

‘The experience at Milu is of a modern Florentine townhouse,’ explains Ohayon. ‘I wanted the guests to feel like they are staying in a big private residence, where everything has been hand-picked for them and no room is typical.’

Each of its 22 bedrooms has a distinct color palette and is furnished with hand-picked furniture by the likes of Italian designers Moroso, Minotti, and Desalto. They feature Italian marble, parquet flooring, brightly-colored glass screens, and tiled walls.

Milu welcomes guests with rooms starting at €160.

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