History

In the mid-13th century, the Guelph Ruggerini family built a tower house at the entrance to what would become one of Florence’s most elegant streets. It marked the beginning of an eight-century-long story. The Tower soon passed into the hands of the Fastelli family and later the Gianfigliazzi, powerful bankers and merchants who would transform it into their residence for nearly five centuries.

From the early 14th century, the palace became the heart of the Gianfigliazzi family’s life and a prominent setting for Florence’s civic affairs. After the Battle of Benevento in 1266 and the defeat of the Ghibellines, the Guelph family gained access to Florence’s highest civic offices, including priors, gonfaloniers, and knights of the Golden Spur. Dante Alighieri himself mentions the family in Canto XVII of the Inferno in the Divine Comedy - an extraordinary recognition that reflects their influence and prominence in medieval Florence.

For centuries, the palace served, as the chronicles of the time recount, as “a place for the public gatherings of the nobility.” A place where the leading figures of Florence’s cultured and aristocratic society gathered, conversed, and forged lasting connections. From this enduring vocation came the name by which it is still known today: Casino dei Nobili. In 1764, the Gianfigliazzi family line came to an end with the death of Canon Rinaldo di Lodovico.

Passed first to the Fontebuoni family and later to the Piccioli family, the building was transformed in the early 20th century into a refined guest house of exceptional elegance. A cherished destination for aristocrats, English writers, artists, and musicians, the residence welcomed illustrious guests including the Russian writers Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Zinaida Gippius. A golden chapter that came to a close around 1948, following the upheavals of the Second World War.

In 2001, the Piccioli heirs restored the Tower to its original vocation, reopening it as a historic residence under the name Antica Torre di Via Tornabuoni 1. In 2008, the historic residence expanded with the addition of Palazzo Gianfigliazzi, located within the same storied building. Carefully executed restorations honor the original soul of the rooms, preserving their frescoes, family furnishings, and timeless architectural details. Today, ours is more than a hotel: it is a place where every stay becomes part of a centuries-old story.