Aged Buildings - Pallazzo Tornabuoni - The Apartments

Pallazzo Tornabuoni - The Apartments

The launch of a new Italian supercar is not a function I would normally attend, but I have a dear friend who loves cars and, well, she can be persuasive. After one circuit of the room the champagne glass was empty, the car was still draped in velvet and the escourts were less draped. I ventured to the periphery of the room & spotted a young Italian man holding a book of old plans. I asked him why he was handing out plans of the Palazzo Strozzi in Firenze.

He then told be about Pallazzo Tornabuoni which was being restored by the Marchese Jacopo Mazzel & would I like to join the restoration project. I loved Florence and had written my thesis on Michelangelo so I signed right there and then. In the morning I found out that I had actually purchased one of the 34 residential apartments as well as become a member of Italy’s only private residential club. Did I now need that Mazerati or was it all a dream?.At that point the Palazzo was in ruins, but it was cheaper than a 2 bedroom flat in central london.What the hell I thought. You only live once.

That one hour and a chance meeting started a twenty year love affair with Firenze. I would fly out every other week to inspect the work and discuss the restoration progress. I met the most incredible craftsmen and women and it led to other projects that were in progress. The project is now managed by the “Four Seasons Group”

The restoration of Palazzo Rucellai (designed by the architect Leon Battista Alberti in 1450 AD) was under way and the elderly and very brusque project Architect Simonette Bracciale would show me around and then round on me regarding the detailing under her fig tree at home whilst smoking her beloved pipe. She also helped me with my design ideas for the San Procolo Church project and would always tease me about my terrible Italian and I about her refusal to speak English. I will never forget her and owe her a huge debt of gratitude. Grazie!