In the heart of aristocratic Florence, Palazzo Tornabuoni was built for one of the city’s most influential families at the height of the Tuscan Renaissance. Once home to the Medici, the recently-restored Palazzo is now a magnificent Private Residence Club adorned with museum-quality frescoes, friezes and statuary. Managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Palazzo Tornabuoni features a range of beautiful residences, each exquisitely furnished with the finest comforts and conveniences providing members a carefree home away from home. In addition to the dedicated services of Club Tornabuoni’s Attaché, members can also enjoy the extensive facilities at the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze.
The Palazzo’s 38 elegant private residences, majestic Club rooms and relaxing exterior terraces balance contemporary flair with timeless elegance.
Reviving its sixteenth-century role as a civic fulcrum, Palazzo Tornabuoni is once again an integral part of the city’s vibrant cultural life, and a dynamic forum for intellectual, social and business encounters.
Rise and shine
Sunlight filters through the lovingly restored sage shutters, softly illuminating the Renaissance frescoes, stone fireplaces and contemporary comforts. Starting the day at Palazzo Tornabuoni, Florence’s only private residence club, means viewing the city through fresh eyes and renewed zeal for projects that generously give back time after time.
Breakfast on the terrace
A leisurely breakfast awaits on the communal outdoor terrace where Members and their guests catch up with one another alfresco, a preferred place to begin another glorious 24 hours of life in Florence. Sipping the perfect cappuccino and lingering over a crumbly cornetto, the residents, from 34 countries around the world, discuss their plans, exchange their experiences from the previous day and make arrangements to meet up again later over an aperitif.
Tea with Botticelli
With the sun already high in the Florentine sky, an unhurried morning in Florence unfolds with a fabulous visit to Palazzo Corsini. Contessa Rezia Corsini greets an intimate group of Palazzo Tornabuoni Members to her family home, the striking Late Baroque palazzo whose façade faces onto the River Arno. After a relaxing chat in the sumptuously frescoed summer apartments,
a unique look at the majestic throne room and gazing downriver from the terrace overlooking lungarno Corsini, the Countess generously guides her guests through the princely family’s private Botticelli collection.
Lunch at Palazzo Antinori
Beauty sates the soul and inspires the taste buds. As the city bells strike noon, the Members escape the summer heat with a short chauffeur-driven ride to Cantinetta Antinori. Regaled with the anecdotes of Marchese Piero Antinori, wild boar pappardelle pasta is served on exquisitely Florentine floral-patterned dishes as special vintages of Antinori wines and other leading Tuscan wineries are decanted and degusted on the ground floor of this memorable fifteenth-century palazzo.
A charitable afternoon
Now it’s time for important gestures. First up after lunch is a visit to Florence’s Archaeological Museum, set just off piazza della Santissima Annunziata, where a significant donation by a Palazzo Tornabuoni Member has helped to bring this often-overlooked treasure chest back into the cultural spotlight. Meetings with Simonetta Brandolini d’Adda, president of the Friends of Florence, and Arturo Galansino, director general of Palazzo Strozzi, are also on the agenda to chat about charitable contributions for the coming months.
Time for Tuscany
Since it’s such a beautiful blue-sky afternoon, a special invitation to the millennium-old Nipozzano Castle nestled in the Tuscan countryside simply cannot be refused. The Frescobaldi family reveals the secrets of the celebrated estate to our select syndicate of Members, such as how Donatello often bought wine from this stronghold on the hill and the backstory of the name “Nipozzano”, meaning “without a well”, testimony to the area’s lack of water and ideal circumstances for grape growing.
Unwinding in the Lounge
After a busy day, the Members refresh up in their apartments before unwinding in the book-lined Club Lounge. The focal point of life at Palazzo Tornabuoni, here the conversation is always sparkling, whether it’s a quiet chat among friends or thought-provoking dialogue with figures like the director of the Getty Museum in Los Angeles or the Brera Museum in Milan. The Lounge is a cultural hub for events with visiting experts and informal talks on an eclectic range of topics. This month, The Florentine is thrilled to bring its stories to the Palazzo for two evenings: on May 9, a chat with the magazine’s energetic editor in chief Helen Farrell, and on May 16, a look at Famous Expats in Florence with long-standing columnist Deirdre Pirro.
Gala at nightfall
As the sun sets on city living, the Members of Palazzo Tornabuoni pursue their passions at concerts with a Guest Artist in Residence in the Sala delle Muse where the very first opera was performed, over a discreet supper at one of Florence’s osterie or dressed up to the nines for a charitable gala dinner at the Palazzo Vecchio with the city’s elite. 24 hours at Palazzo Tornabuoni: an experience never to be forgotten for our Members, for whom giving back to Florence is a pleasure and a privilege.
