Firenze, ma privatissima!

At La Réserve Firenze, Olivia and Grégory Marciano open the doors to a Florence few visitors ever get to know, inviting their guests to discover a more personal side of the city.

It's just before eight in the morning. I'm standing on the rooftop terrace, looking out across the terracotta rooftops of Florence. My gaze drifts towards the Arno as the bells of Santo Spirito begin to ring. I pull my fluffy Frette bathrobe a little tighter and take another sip of cappuccino. While the city slowly wakes up beneath me, breakfast is being prepared inside. I could get used to this. And that is precisely the idea behind La Réserve Firenze.

In the historic Oltrarno neighbourhood, just a few steps from the Arno, Olivia and Grégory Marciano have joined forces with Michel Reybier, founder of the exclusive La Réserve hospitality group, to transform a Renaissance palazzo into a private residence for discerning travellers. Six spacious apartments combine the freedom of having your own home with the service of a luxury hotel.

You can move in with your family, invite friends over for dinner, enjoy breakfast in your bathrobe and start the day whenever you please. And whenever you need something, there is someone to take care of it. I'm fortunate enough to experience this extraordinary place just days before its official opening in October. And it doesn't take long to realise that along with the keys to their apartment, guests receive something rather special: access to the Marcianos' very own Florence.

Via Santo Spirito is one of those streets that makes you slow down. Antique dealers, small galleries, traditional workshops and long-established trattorias give this neighbourhood on the other side of the Arno its distinctive character. Here, Florence reveals itself in the most casual ways. On your way to pick up a coffee, through the open door of an artisan's workshop or over dinner just a few houses down the street.

Right in the middle of it all stands Palazzo Segni, dating back to the 15th century. Its meticulous restoration took four years. French interior design duo Gilles & Boissier have combined the building's historic architecture with an understated, contemporary elegance.

Restored frescoes, carved wooden ceilings, terracotta floors and Siena travertine sit alongside carefully selected artworks, contemporary furniture and antique tapestries from the Marcianos' private collection. The rooms have character without feeling like a museum. In fact, everything feels so effortlessly inviting that it's hard to imagine just how much work went into creating this apparent ease.

The six apartments range from 170 to 210 square metres, each with one to three bedrooms, a private kitchen and generous living areas. There is also a private salon, a library, a fitness room and, of course, the rooftop terrace where I spend my first morning.

A personal Maître de Maison is on hand to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. A private dinner? A special art tour? A mushroom-foraging excursion followed by lunch? All easily arranged. Even an afternoon at the Marcianos' country estate is possible, where guests can enjoy, among other things, a private tennis court.

What I particularly love is the connection to the neighbourhood. Room service comes courtesy of the legendary Trattoria Cammillo, just a few steps away. A Florence institution since 1945, it is one of the city's most beloved restaurants. So rather than ordering from an anonymous hotel kitchen, your dinner arrives from a proper Florentine trattoria. It's hard to imagine a better way to settle into local life.

How Florence became home

Olivia and Grégory Marciano know from experience how easily falling in love with a city can turn into wanting to live there. The French entrepreneurial couple moved to Florence in 2019, having previously lived in Paris and Brussels. In 1998, Grégory co-founded the restaurant chain Sushi Shop, which he helped develop into an international business. Following its sale in 2018, the couple felt ready for a new chapter.

In Florence, they purchased Villa Sorgente, a historic property in the hills above the city that had once belonged to the Gucci family. They commissioned Gilles & Boissier to oversee its restoration. The collaboration proved so successful that the French designers would later be entrusted with Palazzo Segni as well.

But perhaps more importantly, Olivia and Grégory began discovering their own Florence. They met artists and collectors, explored small workshops, made new friends and found places you won't come across in any guidebook. Three years after moving to the city, they purchased the palazzo in Oltrarno. Together with Michel Reybier, they developed the idea of sharing their adopted hometown with guests in a very personal way.

Because Florence has many faces. Visit the Uffizi, the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio, and you will have seen some of the world's greatest artistic treasures. Yet behind Renaissance façades and heavy wooden doors lies another Florence altogether. One of private art collections, magnificent courtyards, centuries-old workshops and palazzi whose doors usually remain firmly closed.

During our stay, a few of those doors open for us. One of the most memorable moments comes after sunset, when we visit the Church of Ognissanti by candlelight. Sandro Botticelli is buried here, and several works by the celebrated Renaissance artist can also be admired inside. At this late hour, without the usual crowds and with the church almost entirely in darkness, the atmosphere is extraordinary.

Afterwards, we walk through the church garden to dinner in the spectacular showroom of Officine Gullo. The company creates luxurious kitchens using metal, brass and precious materials, with craftsmanship more reminiscent of bespoke furniture than conventional kitchen design. A wonderful example of how Florence's centuries-old artisanal traditions continue to thrive and evolve.

The following day, we are invited to explore the private art collection of Christian Levett. A former investment fund manager and passionate collector, Levett owns a palazzo in Florence displaying works by leading female artists, including Marina Abramović and Tracey Emin. In 2024, he opened FAMM, a museum in Mougins in the South of France dedicated entirely to women artists.

By now, I'm beginning to understand why Olivia and Grégory love living here so much. "Florence has been attracting international entrepreneurs, creatives, collectors and families for years, many of whom want to stay longer than just a weekend," Grégory tells me over a delicious pasta lunch at Cantinetta Antinori.

Indeed, Florence seems to be enjoying a new wave of international attention. People from all over the world are buying and restoring historic homes, moving here with their families and discovering a daily rhythm somewhere between art, school, work and dinner at their favourite trattoria.

Hollywood, too, has long discovered the appeal of Florence and Tuscany. Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander spend time in the region, while Jeff Goldblum has made a home with his wife, Emilie Livingston, and their two sons near Palazzo Pitti. In interviews, he has spoken enthusiastically about his family's quality of life in Florence. Apparently, Cammillo is among his favourite restaurants, too.

So what makes the city so appealing? International schools, walkable neighbourhoods, an extraordinary cultural offering and a sense of intimacy that can be hard to find in London, Paris or New York. Here, you can run your daily errands on foot, bump into familiar faces and still live in one of Europe's great cultural capitals.

And then, of course, there's Tuscany. For the Marcianos, life in Florence also means enjoying the beautiful countryside just beyond the city. During our stay, we visit the historic abbey of L'Orto di Badia, part of the estate belonging to the Antinori family, one of Italy's oldest winemaking dynasties. After exploring the abbey, lunch awaits in the former kitchen garden beneath a vine-covered pergola. One of those wonderfully long Italian lunches where, at some point, you simply stop looking at your watch.

The grand finale comes that evening, when Olivia and Grégory invite us to dinner at their home. Over regional specialities and excellent wines, they share more stories about their life in Florence, their discoveries and the people who have become part of their world. It's a lovely ending to a trip that has felt less like a conventional hotel stay and more like visiting friends.

The next morning, I'm back on the rooftop terrace. Technically, I should be getting ready to leave for the airport. But there's still an exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi I'd love to see. And a little shopping at Ferragamo wouldn't hurt either.

A few more days? Absolutely. Perhaps that's the greatest compliment you can pay a hotel: that you don't feel as though you're staying in one at all. You simply feel at home in Florence.