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Palazzo Sogni is a new 30-room hotel near Florence’s Duomo, set inside a 16th-century palazzo associated with the Martelli family. Designers Elena and Giulia Sella restored historic frescoes and other architectural features while creating custom furnishings and textiles with regional artisans.
Palazzo Sogni, a new 30-room hotel near Florence’s Duomo, has brought a contemporary hospitality project into a 16th-century palazzo, with designers Elena and Giulia Sella combining restored historic features with custom interiors. The development matters as an example of how a hotel can adapt a heritage building while keeping its frescoes and architectural centerpiece central to the design.
The building once formed part of Palazzo Testa, constructed by the Martelli family in the 16th century. Its notable features include historic frescoes from several periods and a monumental nymphaeum with a stone fountain, traditionally attributed to sculptor Baccio Bandinelli. Design Milk reports that the conservation work included removing layers of paint to reveal decorations that had been concealed.
The Sella sisters restored original ceiling frescoes and recreated marble flooring to echo the palazzo’s checkerboard pattern. They designed the hotel’s 30 rooms and suites individually, drawing color and material choices from the historic decoration and adapting furniture arrangements to each room’s proportions. Custom wardrobes, beds, headboards, seating and lighting were made for the property rather than selected from existing furniture collections.
The project also involved local and Italian makers. Florence-area textile company Alessandro Bini developed the hotel’s Floral Butterfly silk-based jacquard, while Italian manufacturer Rivolta Carmignani supplied bespoke linens and terry collections. Ginori 1735 adapted its Antico Doccia tableware in the hotel’s powder-blue palette. Powder blue, mint green, blush pink and ochre appear alongside velvet, silk, warm metallic details and aged amber mirrors.
Preserving the Palazzos Defining Features
The project’s central design decision is to treat the building’s historic features as part of the hotel’s identity, rather than as decoration behind a new interior scheme. Restored paintings and the nymphaeum and fountain remain prominent, while lighting, color and furniture respond to the architecture around them. That approach gives the renovation a clear emphasis on adapting the existing building rather than replacing its visual character.
For visitors, the result is a hotel whose rooms are designed to differ from one another and whose materials connect the guest experience to Florentine and Italian production. The commissioned furniture, textiles and tableware also show how a hospitality project can involve local workshops and established manufacturers. The source does not provide information on employment, visitor numbers, pricing or the hotel’s wider economic effects.
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From Palazzo Testa to Hotel
Palazzo Sogni occupies a building that dates to the 16th century and was part of Palazzo Testa, built by the Martelli family. Over time, its interior accumulated historic decoration, including frescoes attributed in the source to artists Luigi Catani and Antonio Marini. The property’s conservation work uncovered decorative elements beneath later layers of paint, according to Design Milk.
The designers describe “dreaming” as the concept connecting the hotel’s spaces. It informs the use of powder blue and other soft colors, but the scheme was developed in response to existing architectural details. A Secret Garden is organized around the historic nymphaeum: a sightline from the entrance directs attention to the fountain, while planting, furnishings and lighting frame it. The source says the fountain is traditionally attributed to Baccio Bandinelli; that attribution is not presented as definitive.
Opening Details Not Supplied
The supplied Design Milk report describes Palazzo Sogni as a new hotel but does not give an opening date, room rates, booking information or the identity of the hotel’s operator. It also does not specify the full scope of the conservation work, whether the restored rooms and garden are accessible to non-guests, or how the project was financed. The traditional attribution of the fountain to Baccio Bandinelli is not stated as independently verified.
The account focuses on the designers’ approach and selected materials. It does not include an outside conservation assessment, comments from heritage authorities, or details about permits and review. Those matters cannot be established from the supplied source.
Guest Access and Hotel Operations
The next practical information for prospective guests is whether the hotel is accepting bookings, its rates and the services it offers. The source does not state when those details will be released or name a further project milestone. Any claims about future programming, public access to the Secret Garden or additional restoration work would need confirmation from the hotel or its representatives.
For now, the reported development is the hotel’s opening as a 30-room property in a restored historic building. Further updates would clarify how the palazzo will operate and what access guests and other visitors will have to its architectural spaces.
Key Questions
Where is Palazzo Sogni?
It is in Florence, steps from the Duomo, according to the Design Milk report.
How many rooms does the hotel have?
The property has 30 rooms and suites, with interiors designed to respond to the proportions and historic features of each room.
What historic features were retained?
The project restored original ceiling frescoes, recreated a checkerboard marble-floor pattern and kept the nymphaeum and stone fountain as a central feature of the Secret Garden.
Were the furnishings made specifically for the hotel?
Yes. Designers Elena and Giulia Sella created custom furnishings and lighting for the property, working with artisans and workshops in Florence and the surrounding region.
When did Palazzo Sogni open, and what are the room rates?
The supplied report does not provide an opening date or room rates. Booking and pricing details remain unconfirmed in the source material.
Source: design-milk.com
