You can have anything you desire
Just outside the door of Palazzo Todescan, you will find a different Florence, more than the one that is worldwide renowned for its landmarks, more exclusive, elegant and luxurious, while also authentic, ancient and ancestral.
The main door of our building is in via de ‘Pecori, a small street named after an important Florentine family from the Middle Ages. The progenitor of this lineage was Dino, also called “Pecora” (literally “sheep”) and hence the nickname and the last name.
you are in the heart of a neoclassical district, built in1800 to replace the ancient Jewish ghetto and the various markets that stood nearby.
ETRA is located at crossroads that tell the story of Florence in an innovative way, creating space for culture, experience, art, craftsmanship, luxury, well-being and business. The only one of all the buildings that has maintained some details of its original appearance is Palazzo Vecchietti, which shows an intervention on the facade by Giambologna.
ETRA is located at crossroads that tell the story of Florence in an innovative way, creating space for culture, experience, art, craftsmanship, luxury, well-being and business. The only one of all the buildings that has maintained some details of its original appearance is Palazzo Vecchietti, which shows an intervention on the facade by Giambologna.
The famous artist was also the author of the small metal devil (actually a satyr) protagonist of an ancient legend. According to the story, St. Peter Martyr was preaching to the crowd nearby this palace. A black horse came up galloping, stopping when the saint drew a cross in the air with his hands. The black horse (or the ‘evil’) backed away and stopped right where Giambologna placed the standard-bearer satyr.
A few steps from ETRA is the luxury district: in just over a hundred meters you can find all the most prestigious Italian boutiques: Hermes, Eredi Chiarini, Luisaviaroma, Dolce & Gabbana, Bulgari, Bottega Veneta, Armani, Ermanno Scervino, Gucci, Stefano Ricci and Ugo Poggi, one of the most loved shops of Jane Fonda and many other celebrities.
You are in the center of the Florentine luxury district, frequented by the Hollywood stars visiting Italy. Many of these boutiques also offer home delivery, so you can order and receive the items you desire in your suite in a short time.
Inside your ETRA residence you can enjoy the recipes of your personal Michelin starred chef, outside you will find a wide offer capable of transporting you on an authentic sensory journey.
Renowned and within walking distance is the Enoteca Pinchiorri, three Michelin stars, a heavenly experience of earthly contact with the Tuscan tradition. A little closer is another Michelin starred restaurant, Ora d’Aria and a few steps away is Osteria La Pagliazza. This restaurant is located inside the oldest tower in Florence, in an prestigious and elegant location.
In Piazza della Repubblica you will be spoiled with choices among the renowned cafes that populate the square. The Giubbe Rosse is the illuminist and futurist café, once frequented by Ardengo Soffici and from the cultural Florentine and Italian avant-garde, also represented here by Boccioni and Marinetti.
Paszkowski and Gilli cafes also offer an excellent alternative with their live music entertainments. While if your desire is to sit in a contemporary and detailed environment you will find about 6 minutes away on foot La Menagere, a flower bar where the they research cocktail ingredients and mix blends with an international and pleasant atmosphere.
An eleven-minute walk away is Rasputin, the first secret bar in Florence. If you can find it, you can enjoy the passionate knowledge of the barmen, who are truly skilled in mixing innovative and creative cocktails.
For the last cocktail of the night, we recommend the private and enchanting roof terrace of the Grand Hotel Minerva, or the superb “Locale” in Via delle Seggiole.
Looking out on the terrace of your ETRA suite you can enjoy a unique view of Giotto’s bell tower and the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, a breathtaking scene. But Brunelleschi’s Dome, the Baptistery or Piazza della Signoria are just some of the incredible monuments surrounding ETRA.
Palazzo Strozzi is just a few seconds from the door of your apartment: this is more than an impressive Florentine noble palace, it is the center of contemporary and current art. Every year here exhilarating exhibitions are inaugurated, reawakening the idea of art as the sight of the future world. Palazzo Strozzi has been a megaphone of contemporary art for decades, it has hosted incredible artists, from Marina Abramovic to Ai Weiwei, from Fontana and Goncharova to something innovative as The Florence Experiment.
Also, very close is the Gabinetto di Vieusseux, an important European cultural center founded in the 19th century for studying literature and civil progress.
Slightly further away you can find the church of Orsanmichele, where Donatello and Nanni Di Banco challenged each other to create the new concept of sculpture during the Early Renaissance, the Medici Chapels and the Laurentian Library (both masterpieces of Michelangelo).
The Florentine “cucina povera” (literally poor – or traditional – culinary arts) but fully reinterpreted from its origins is only 4 minutes from ETRA and it’s called La Giostra. And, finally, a truly Italian dinner should end with a great gelato: Grom.