Renaissance atmospheres

Opened in 2015, the four-star Hotel Spadai located in the historic city centre of Florence perfectly reflects the 15th century atmosphere of the renaissance building in which it is housed. The interiors, materials, finishings, furnishings and accessories are all faithful to the elegant spirit of the city’s genius loci. The building is situated in Via de’ Martelli, which connects the Battistero di San Giovanni and the entire complex of Piazza del Duomo with Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, and is known for its artistic heritage, from Palazzo Testa to the Collegio degli Scolopi. “The style of the interiors is an eclectic combination of the contemporary and the traditional, with some references to the Florentine Renaissance, evoked by formal and decorative solutions,” says architect Franco Bernardini, who was responsible for the interior design. “In some cases, the references are obvious, such as the vaulted ceiling of the entrance, which clearly evokes Piero della Francesca’s Pala di Brera.” The rooms and suites feature a delicate and elegant colour palette reminiscent of Florentine Pietra Forte sandstone. “A standard colour was chosen for the majority of the interiors based on the ochre to dove grey tones of Florentine façades, made since the 15th century of Pietra Forte,” says Bernardini. And indeed, the characteristic shade is a desaturated grey/pink. This provides the setting for the Royal collection from Ceramica Sant’Agostino, which the designers have used for the floors. “This enabled us to maintain the mood of the hotel, based on the tradition of wood floors mounted in squares, while satisfying the client’s requirements for fire safety. The collection also offers a vast choice of light and dark woods, and this enabled us to differentiate the public areas from the hotel rooms,” says Bernardini. The Royal line is a collection of porcelain tiles (75×75 cm with a thickness of 10 mm) with a soft-touch surface finish, made with digital technology to express the richness and elegance of antique woods (drawn from the floors of heritage villas and homes) in ceramic. The veining, which seems random in its patterning, recreates the irregular nature of antique floors. This effect is then amplified by the panel laying technique characteristic of Florentine floors which can also be seen in the Sun King’s palace in Versailles. Other prized materials include Carrara marble, Pietra Serena and églomisé glass (for the surfaces of the furniture). The furnishings, custom made to the designer’s drawings by H&H, Pesaro, are clad in decoloured rosewood, with chromatic detailing. The fabrics, by Dedar and Skopos, vary from violet to turquoise, and maroon to green. A special mention must go to the design of the corridors, where the texture of the porcelain tiles recalls the use of Cordoba leather to cover the walls of old Florentine houses.