From left: A guest room at the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, housed in a 15th-century former palace; Baccio Bandinelli’s 16th-century copy of a Hellenistic statue of Laocoön and his sons in the Uffizi Gallery. Federico Ciamei My accommodations certainly helped me absorb the city in a more languorous manner. Florence has lagged behind its larger European counterparts in offering the sort of hotels that encourage extended stays, but this, too, is changing. I spent the first half of my week at the Four Seasons, which opened in 2008 in a former 15th-century palace. With its original frescoes, outdoor pool, and large private garden, the hotel provided the singular experience of living, literally, like a prince. Then I switched to the Gallery Hotel Art, a sleek, whitewashed boutique establishment at the foot of the Ponte Vecchio where the lobby doubles as a showcase for modern art—a Warhol exhibition, when I visited. The hotel is one of a number of uniquely urbane properties operated by the Lungarno Collection, the hospitality arm of the Ferragamo empire. Another, the nearby Hotel Continentale, is a winking throwback to 1950s Italy. It offers one of the city’s best rooftop bars, which I visited several times to sip an aperitif while watching the sun dip behind the majestic skyline. Related: The Top 5 Hotels in Florence “We’re in the midst of a new dolce vita,” said Edgardo Osorio, a Colombian-born designer who has helped revive the city’s standing in the fashion world with Aquazurra, his playful line of handcrafted shoes. The dapper 32-year-old was discussing his adopted hometown’s current renaissance while giving me a tour of his studio, an eclectic space above his shop. While most Italian fashion is now based in Milan, the country’s modern industry was born in Florence. Iconic brands like Gucci began in the city, which remains the center of its production. “I wanted to be connected to that lineage,” Osorio said. “Being close to the patternmakers and cutters brings in a human element that you just can’t get in New York or Paris.” I thought about this sentiment often while exploring Oltrarno. Located across the Arno opposite the city center, this is Florence’s “Left Bank,” a swath of labyrinthine streets where I got the distinct sense that the city’s residents are as keen on asserting themselves as their mayor. Poking my head into the minuscule storefront studios of the old-school leather craftspeople, cobblers, and papermakers who have worked in the area for centuries often led to impromptu tutorials on their work and technique. Oltrarno is also the most compelling neighborhood for eating and drinking. The area around Piazza Santo Spirito, a small square that turns into a nightly gathering spot, has become a showcase for budding chefs challenging the city’s reputation for stagnant cuisine. Folk dancing in the Piazza Santo Spirito, in Oltrarno. Federico Ciamei The anchor of this new food scene is Il Santo Bevitore, where dishes like roasted pigeon with foie gras ice cream are served in an unfussy, boisterous room; the restaurant recently added an adjacent wine bar, Il Santino. I ate one of my most memorable meals at Gurdulù, a modish, dimly lit spot on a quiet street. After a gin and tonic that arrived with a sprig of lavender suspended in a hand-cut ice cube, I ordered the tasting menu, leaving my meal to the whims of chef Gabriele Andreoni, whose obsession with unexpected ingredients shone in a cuttlefish salad with apricot bottarga and a succulent duck breast accented with kumquat and wasabi. Great cities impress in seconds but seduce slowly; Florence is no different. On my last day, I visited Numeroventi, a co-living space for artists that I would never have heard of had I spent only a day or two in town. Cofounded by Martino di Napoli Rampolla, a 28-year-old Italian, and Andrew Trotter, a peripatetic designer from England, it opened in 2016 in a converted palace built in 1510.

The organization invites artists, writers, and designers for residencies lasting one to eight months. Once a week it opens to the public for studio visits, a throwback to the days when the elite popped in on the likes of Leonardo da Vinci; the completed works are displayed in monthly exhibitions. To help fund the enterprise, Numeroventi rents out a handful of impeccably designed apartments on Airbnb, making it arguably the choicest (and still secretive) place to stay for travelers eager to be immersed in the city’s latest insert nut Suppliersscene. “I would like Florence to be what it was in the Renaissance instead of just making money off the past,” said Alessandro Modestino Ricciardelli, Numeroventi’s passionate, heavily tattooed project manager, when I met him for a tour of the space. The palace already had quite a history before its current incarnation. It was built for a governor, and a Michelangelo sculpture once stood on the pedestal in the courtyard; when the governor clashed with the Medicis, he was beheaded, and the sculpture was repossessed. Today the pedestal remains a hallowed spot where emerging artists show their work. “There are a lot of people here doing cool things, but they’re like little islands,” Ricciardelli continued. “This is a place where we can come together.” Ricciardelli led me through the studios and shared kitchen, absurdly gorgeous spaces where ornate plasterwork and frescoes contrasted with Modernist furnishings. We walked down a hallway lined with precise drawings of sound waves; on the floor below them were abstract renderings of the same shapes carved from marble. Both were the work of Lorenzo Brinati, an Italian artist and former resident. The top floor still looked much the way it did during the decades when squatters occupied it: dingy, with peeling paint, yet enticing given what was happening there. “Basically, this is a kind of free-for-all gallery,” Rampolla said, explaining that artists were invited to use the rooms however they saw fit: painting on the walls, experimenting with mischievous installations. It was the opposite of a museum. “Making something new,” Rampolla said, “is always more interesting than just worshipping what is old.”