This Idyllic New Hotel in the Hills of Florence Feels Like an Instant Classic

Up in the winding streets that rise above the Le Cure neighborhood in northern Florence, there’s an air of calm you’ll struggle to find in most corners of the city—certainly not within the tourist-clogged streets that surround the Duomo or the Palazzo Vecchio, where teeming crowds trudged through the baking heat when I visited on an unseasonably warm week in May. Among the ritzy villas that dot these hilltops, the only sound you’re likely to hear is that of birds chirping in the trees and the rustling of leaves from an olive grove hidden behind a tall stone wall; it’s the kind of paradise that makes you understand why, 600 or so years ago, the surrounding landscapes inspired artists to help spark for one of the most significant cultural revolutions in human history. And it’s here, tucked a