Collegio alla Querce, Auberge Resorts Collection, Florence
Arriving at Collegio alla Querce feels less like checking into a hotel and more like stepping into a pause; a cypress-lined drive climbs above Florence, peeling away the city’s soundtrack until only hillside greens, terracotta roofs, and the hush of expectation remain. From here, the Duomo glimmers in the distance — a reminder of where you’ve come from, not where you’re headed. Here, Florence is read differently; quieter, slower, through the prism of art and restoration.
Arriving at Collegio alla Querce feels less like checking into a hotel and more like stepping into a pause; a cypress-lined drive climbs above Florence, peeling away the city’s soundtrack until only hillside greens, terracotta roofs, and the hush of expectation remain. From here, the Duomo glimmers in the distance — a reminder of where you’ve come from, not where you’re headed. Here, Florence is read differently; quieter, slower, through the prism of art and restoration.
It takes barely ten minutes from Santa Maria Novella to reach this hillside pocket, though the shift feels greater. Reception hides in plain sight, welcome deliberately understated, and salons lined with books and canvases greet you before anyone asks for a passport. You sense immediately that this is hospitality as conversation — less ceremony, more calm.
Rooms extend that dialogue. Historic bones remain, while fabrics and art strike a contemporary tone; hardwood underfoot, wool textures, and muted palettes frame Florence itself as the true ornament. In Palazzo Moderno, rooftop terraces and private outlooks suspend you between city and countryside, with balconies that catch the Duomo’s profile or the rolling Tuscan hills.
Culinary programming mirrors the architecture’s balance of past and present. La Gamella, once the refectory, keeps its communal spirit — vaulted windows, long tables, and Tuscan clarity on the plate; honest, unpretentious, deeply rooted. By the pool, Café Focolare leans into wood-fired simplicity, while Bar Bertelli — the former headmaster’s office — mixes classics with old-world poise and a hint of smoke.
Wellness unfolds beneath painted ceilings. Aelia Spa weaves treatments, sauna, and Turkish bath into a sequence that feels ceremonial rather than routine. Outside, a long ribbon of water runs beside olive trees — among the city’s longest hotel pools — reflecting cypress and dome. Staff move with youthful poise, anticipating without imposing; guests drift between cooking sessions, yoga flows, and unhurried drinks at sunset.
Between Domes and Olive Groves
Collegio alla Querce rests on overlapping stories: Renaissance villa, Jesuit school, now retreat. Its very name gestures to rootedness; oaks brace the horizon while domes rise beyond. From one window Florence shimmers, from another olive groves roll down the hills. A dual gaze — part urban theatre, part pastoral poem — defines the property; art animates the walls, yet the silence between those works is what lingers.
Florence may sit only minutes away, yet within these grounds the city becomes a backdrop rather than a burden. Domes shimmer on the skyline, ancient oaks steady the light, and time arranges itself to a slower rhythm. Collegio alla Querce doesn’t simply accommodate; it reframes how Florence can be lived.
Where Via delle Forbici, 21B, 50133 Firenze FI, Italy
Phone +39 055 404 9000
Pricing ££££
