Not your usual city centre fixer-upper. Large Florence Tuscany penthouse that could be a unique luxury home or fabulous boutique holiday accommodation. In good condition but needs some modernization. Superb location.

Florence Tuscany Property

Superbly located in Piazza della Santissima Annunziata in the centre of Florence and just a stone’s throw from Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Signoria is this prestigious and spacious 520 sqm penthouse on the third floor of Palazzo Budini Gattai. The unit is in good condition but needs some modernization but could comfortably accommodate up to 10 bedrooms with bathrooms for the creation of a luxury boutique hotel catering to the burgeoning tourist market or an exclusive private apartment in the heart of this historic city.
Services are all available in the centre of Florence and can be reached on foot in a few minutes. Leaving Florence it is also very easy to reach various towns in Tuscany such as Fiesole, Siena, San Casciano in Val di Pesa, Colle di Val d’Elsa, Montepulciano, Pienza ….

The penthouse is located on the third floor of Palazzo Budini Gattai, located in Piazza della Santissima Annunziata and has a surface area of 520 square metres with 15 rooms, all accessible independently, which are not currently used but which could easily be converted into reception rooms and/or bedrooms with bathrooms.

The building, in good condition, still has some of the original finishes including the remains of the frescoes visible in some sections of the wall. Of particular value is the large polychrome glass skylight located in the centre of the building.
Access to the apartment is via a monumental condominium staircase decorated with an iron balustrade and stone columns, added during the late nineteenth-century renovation conducted by Giuseppe Boccini.
The building is the only one in all of Florence that has an exposed brick facade.

The land on which the building stands originally belonged to the order of the Servants of Mary, who used it as a place for the celebration of the Rificolona feast. In 1464 the prior of Florence ordered the sale of part of the land for the construction of buildings: the buyer, Puccio Pucci, won the land but only had a small house built there. The order of the Servants of Mary, noting that the pacts for the construction had been ignored, took possession of the land and rented the house. It was only in 1549 that Ugolino di Jacopo Grifoni, secretary of Cosimo I de ‘Medici, bought the house with the idea of ​​demolishing it and building his own palace over it.
The project was started by Giuliano di Baccio d ‘Agnolo and continued by Bartolomeo Ammannati upon his death. Construction of the palace probably began in 1557 but was soon abandoned. Ammannati was commissioned to redesign and complete the work in 1563 but the palace was not yet complete when he died. The latest works are attributed to Buontalenti who only partially followed the Ammannati project: upon completion, the building had only two floors, the third which houses the attic consisted only of a turret on the corner and was not completed until 1772 by Pietro Grifoni.
The Grifoni family remained the owner of the building until 1800 when it was handed over in succession to the Riccardi, Mannelli and Antinori families. In 1889 the palace was sold to the knight Leopoldo Gattai and his son-in-law Francesco Budini, whose heirs still own the property.

Thanks to its central location in the centre of Florence in Piazza della Santissima Annunziata gives easy access to reach the most important attractions and monuments of the city in a very short time on foot. In order of distance are the Palazzo Medici (500 m; 5 ‘) and the adjacent Basilica of San Lorenzo decorated by Michelangelo and Brunelleschi (500 m; 5’), Piazza della Signoria (1.0 km; 10 ‘), the museum degli Uffizi (1.1 km; 10 ‘), the Basilica of Santa Croce with the tombs of the great Italian poets and artists (1.1 km; 10’), the splendid Ponte Vecchio (1.2 km; 15 ‘), the basilica of Santa Maria Novella (1.2 km; 15 ‘) next to the central station, the mighty Medici Fortezza da Basso (1.2 km; 15’), the imposing Palazzo Pitti (1.7 km; 20 ‘) , the Basilica of Santo Spirito (1.8 km; 20 ‘) and finally the splendid panoramic point of Piazzale Michelangelo (2.4 km; 25’).

The numerous shops, restaurants, bars, cafes and prestigious boutiques of Florence can also be easily reached on foot in just a few minutes.

• TYPE: Florence city centre penthouse
• CONDITION: Habitable
• LOCATION: Historic city centre in Piazza della Santissima Annunziata
• MUNICIPALITY: Florence
• PROVINCE: Florence
• REGION: Tuscany
• INTERIORS: 520 square metres (5,595 square feet)
• TOTAL ROOMS: 15
• BEDROOMS: up to 10
• BATHROOMS: up to 10
• MAIN FEATURES: View of the Duomo and the Spitale degli Innocenti, remains of frescoes, parquet floors, original stone fireplaces, monumental staircase with iron columns and balustrades, mouldings, coloured glass skylight
• EXTERIORS: No
• GARDEN: No
• ANNEXES: No
• ACCESS: Excellent
• SWIMMING POOL: No
• ELECTRICITY: Already connected
• WATER SUPPLY: Mains water
• TELEPHONE: Already connected
• ADSL: Yes
• GAS: Natural gas
• HEATING SYSTEM: Radiators
• CLOSEST CITIES AND TOWNS Fiesole (8km; 20’), San Casciano in Val di Pesa (24km; 30’), Greve in Chianti (32km; 45’), Castellina in Chianti (43km; 50’), Colle di Val d’Elsa (49km; 50’), Radda in Chianti (50km; 1h 5’), San Gimignano (56km; 1h), Monteriggioni (57km; 55’), Gaiole in Chianti (70km; 1h 20’), Siena (73km; 1h 10’), Volterra (76km; 1h 20’), Lucca (82km; 1h 10’), Arezzo (83km; 1h 15’), Pisa (84km; 1h 15’), Montalcino (111km; 1h 50’), Montepulciano (113km; 1h 35’)
• CLOSEST AIRPORTS Firenze Vespucci (8km; 20’), Pisa Galilei (81km; 1h 5’), Bologna Marconi (103km; 1h 25’), Roma Ciampino (290km; 3h), Milano Linate (299km; 3h), Roma Fiumicino (305km; 3h 5’), Milano Malpensa (353km; 3h 35’)

See more Florence real estate for sale