In Florence, in Piazza Santa Maria Novella, the Grand Hotel Minerva is a true art house, where over seven centuries of Florentine history interact with the stylistic revolution and interior design mastery of Carlo Scarpa.

History: from a 14th-century monastery to Carlo Scarpa’s revolutionary renovation

The history of the Grand Hotel Minerva dates back to the 1300s, when the building was part of the Santa Maria Novella monastery complex. Over the following centuries, the structure was transformed into a noble residence for prominent Florentine families, until 1848, when its vocation for hospitality took shape with the opening of La Locanda di Minerva.

In 1958, the hotel was entrusted to the ingenious architect Edoardo Detti and master Carlo Scarpa. Scarpa’s renovation was a “demolitive” and profoundly visionary: he deconstructed the interiors to redefine the volumes and create modernist spaces that have become part of the history of Italian design, maintaining intact only a few precious areas with ancient frescoes and hand-painted coffered ceilings.

I wanted to cut out the blue of the sky.

(Carlo Scarpa)

Today, the hotel is part of Collezione Em, the luxury hotel group founded by the Maestrelli family, which promotes historic homes and the excellence of local craftsmanship.

The group’s history in hospitality began over thirty years ago, when Egiziano Maestrelli purchased the Grand Hotel Minerva in Florence in 1995, a hotel that had been a fixture on the Grand Tour. Its management is now continued by his daughter Elena, supported by her granddaughter Sara and her son Nicolò.

Scarpa’s interior design: a journey through materials, light, and twentieth-century art

Staying at the Grand Hotel Minerva means enjoying an immersive experience in the history of interior architecture. The 97 rooms and suites offer a refined balance of contemporary design, Florentine craftsmanship, and original works of art. Walking through the corridors and common areas, you’ll encounter modernist furnishings, futurist drawings, sculptures, and paintings by twentieth-century masters such as Carlo Carrà, Emilio Greco, Renato Guttuso, and Gianni Chiari.

Carlo Scarpa’s influence is revealed through unique, scenographic and geometric details:

The Breakfast Room and its 1958 seating: a space punctuated by pillars with pietra serena corner guards and floors in green serpentine and white Apuan marble. Here are the iconic wooden chairs designed by Scarpa specifically for the hotel in 1958, as well as the frames he designed for both the hotel and the Uffizi Gallery.

The Japanese-inspired Garden: adjacent to the breakfast room, conceived as a meditative space bordered by a three-dimensional brick wall with a double-lozenge window that frames the natural light.

The Steel and Wood Staircase: an architectural and sculptural element that represents one of the Maestro’s most recognizable signatures, designed to connect the interior with the exterior and guide the movement upward to the terrace with pool.

The Panoramic Terrace and Pool: located on the roof of the 14th-century building, it features a heated pool for the exclusive use of guests and a cocktail bar that also opens to the outdoor area, offering the unique opportunity to swim while admiring Brunelleschi’s Dome up close.

La gastronomia: il ristorante La Buona Novella

On the ground floor of the hotel, overlooking the piazza with a refined outdoor terrace, is the La Buona Novella restaurant. Its interiors celebrate the union of art and cuisine, featuring original Carlo Scarpa chairs and a series of signed lithographs by Emilio Greco.

Heading the kitchen, Florentine chef Edoardo Papiani offers a contemporary reinterpretation of Tuscan tradition, centered on seasonal vegetable ingredients and local produce.

How magical it is to fall asleep at the Grand Hotel and wake up next to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Novella, in the center of Florence—so close it feels like you can touch the marble with your fingers.

The Secret

In 1958, while designing the internal garden and the spatial continuity between the building and the terrace, Carlo Scarpa confided: “I wanted to carve out the blue of the sky.” The hotel’s secret lies precisely in the wall at the back of the meditative garden: the double-lozenge window set into the brickwork was not conceived as a simple opening, but as an optical and poetic device conceived by Scarpa to capture the Florentine light and “carve out” a portion of the sky, transforming the urban space into an oasis of artistic contemplation.

Useful Info

Grand Hotel Minerva
Piazza Santa Maria Novella 16
50123 Firenze 
Tel. +39 055 27230

Rooms: from €250 with breakfast

La Buona Novella Restaurant
Tasting menu: from €85
Appetizers and first courses: €22 and €28
Second courses: €32–€42