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n a city full of impressive hotels, Stella d’Italia manages to stand out. It’s partly the location, inside an elegant 16th-century palazzo designed by Renaissance architect Giorgio Vasari; it’s just off the upscale Via de' Tornabuoni, a few minutes’ stroll from the Duomo. And it’s partly the contemporary intervention by a pair of creative Florentine hoteliers, designer Matteo Perduca and his calligrapher wife, Betty Soldi, already known for three other fashionable B&B-style properties around town. Their fourth collaboration is an ode to Italianità — the spirit of being Italian — with one-of-a-kind interiors featuring hundreds of original paintings, eclectic art objects, old film posters, and quirky antiques uncovered at local flea markets.

Rooms and suites are cozy and charming, each uniquely decorated with a mix of vintage pieces and colorful modern details. Some have 18th-century frescoes, freestanding tubs, or private terraces with views over the city’s red rooftops. More hand-painted frescoes of the Italian countryside wrap around the breakfast room, where a generous Tuscan spread is laid out each morning, while a collection of 1960s-era Buon Ricordo souvenir plates are in decorative display around a cocktail bar where guests sip aperitivi in the early evening. Other highlights include an airy loggia terrace furnished with red velvet armchairs and wooden seats salvaged from the Odeon Cinema.