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Milu Hotel is a modern bolthole with a storied past in Florence

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.

Photography: courtesy of Milu Hotel
Photography: courtesy of Milu Hotel

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.

Photography: courtesy of Milu Hotel
Photography: courtesy of Milu Hotel

‘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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