Inviting living room with a sofa and two easy chairs. The living room window open onto the sunny courtyard.
This is a spacious apartment perfect for a family or a group of friends. Beamed ceiling over the desk area behind the living room.
The inner windows overlook this courtyard which has a small fountain.
Chestnut farm-style table seats up to 8 and is ideal for lingering over home-cooked meals using ingredients from the local market.
Enjoy meals at home if you're too tired to go out.
Kitchen has sleek stainless steel countertops, beechwood cabinets, top-of-the line stove, tumbled marble tiles on the backspash.
The raised countertop is great for casual meals, or for socializing with a glass of wine while dinner preparations are underway.
There is a long beechwood counter and a kitchen window that overlooks the street. Plenty of work space for meal preparation.
Another view of the central courtyard that the Toscanella living room overlooks.
Gazing out the dining room window and watching the street life below is fun. You can see why only one car can pass at a time.
Look out the dining room window to the cute narrow street below. In the summer the window boxes are filled with colorful flowers.
The desk has all the amenities of a home office: fax, phone line, high speed Internet access, and good overhead halogen lighting.
Hallway to two of the bedrooms and both bathrooms. Master bedroom is at the end, second bedroom is on the left.
The master bedroom with top-quality king size bed and nightstands on either side with reading lights.
Looking towards the bedroom window you can see the trees in the courtyard. There are screens on the windows.
The spacious master bathroom has a terrazzo countertop, with tumbled marble wall behind.
Lots of cabinets for storage in the master bathroom.
Hgh-tech fully enclosed shower.
Tumbled marble tiles on the wall behind the toilet and bidet.
Out the bathroom window you might see the neighbor's cat basking in the sunshine that streams in the window across the street.
Versatile second bedroom can be configured three ways. It is set up as two twins and a desk. Third bed is tucked away as a trundle.
We call this configuration "the dormitory" because kids and teens like the bunk room style.
Voila, it's a dual king bed. Reading lights on either side of the bed are convenient.
Small but efficient white-tiled second bathroom.
At night the living room sofa can be opened to become a double sized bed.
The door to the third bedroom is off the apartment's entryway, providing extra privacy.
The sweet third bedroom has an elegant simplicity. The windows look out to the trees in the courtyard.
Only a few doors down is this handy alimentari which sells deli items, pasta, wine, cheeses, olives and other essentials.
Front door to the Toscanella apartment building.
Looking down the street, the apartment building entrance is the first door on the right with the small window over it.
Plaque marks "Antique Ovens of the King", when area was bakery to the royal Medici family who lived at Pitti Palace a block away.
The Forni Regi plaque is on nearby Via dello Sprone. Be sure to look up high for the plaque.
Famous Trattoria dei Quattro Leoni, founded in 1550 is in Piazza della Passera and is only one block away.
Within one block are several restaurants. Ths one is specialzes in a Florentine delicacy: tripe.
Nearby is one of few remaining tower houses from 1200's. Tower height could not exceed Bargello or Santa Maria del Fiore tower.
The famous Ponte Vecchio is only a few blocks from the apartment.
Walk along Via Maggio only a few blocks to the Ponte Santa Trinita which crosses the Arno river.
Via Maggio has many shops, churches. Little blue ribbon heralds the arrival of a new baby boy.
With many artisan workshops in the area, there are several schools that teach these crafts. Palazzo Ridolfi teaches art restoration.
Another palazzo along nearby Via Maggio. In tiny type at the bottom you can read that this is the location of the Lions Club of Florence.
This beautifully painted building is where the local Lion's Club meets.
Quaint streets in the Toscanella neighborhood and lots of cafes and excellent restaurants.
Good shopping for marble statuary and antiques nearby.
Only two blocks away is St. Mark's English church on Via Maggio. Check out their classical concert schedule.
A few blocks away, just before you reach Ponte Santa Trinita is this fountain with a plaque marking the flood level in 1966.
Above the fountain is a spot marketd "November 4, 1966 the water of the Arno rose to this level."
This store off Piazza Santo Spirito custom makes men's shoes. Each pair is carefully made by hand.
Shop on Via Guicciardini has good selection of Italian-designed giftware. Don't be offended by rude owner -- she is rude to everyone!
This statue of the famous Florentine sculptor and goldsmith, Benvenuto Cellini, is mid-point along the Ponte Vecchio, renowned for it's gold jewelry shops.
Shop for produce at the Piazza Santo Spirito outdoor market just around the corner. The piazza has a nice array of restaurants too.
A colorful variety of fresh fruits at the Santo Spirito daily market plus some houswares and a few antique items.
An upholster's old-fashioned tools in a neighborhorhood upholstery workroom.
Workshops that make traditional Florentine items abound in the neighorbood.
Nearby are the Boboli Gardens, behind the Pitti Palace. Take time for a quiet stroll.
Pick up fresh bread at the bakery, prosciutto and cheese at the alimentari and enjoy a picnic in the Boboli Gardens.
Tree-lined pathways in the Boboli Gardens, a 5 minute walk from the apartment.