Where is Villa San Michele?

At Via Doccia 4, in Fiesole, on the hill north of the city, Fiesole. The nearest tram stop is Unità, on lines T1 and T2, beside Santa Maria Novella station, about 5 kilometres away. Bus 7 runs from the centre to Fiesole.

Does Villa San Michele have a swimming pool?

Yes. It has A pool on a terrace above the city.

When did Villa San Michele open?

In 1952. It has 39 rooms and suites.

Number 14 of 16 in Florence

Villa San Michele

The friars who built San Michele chose the hill for its silence and its view. Both are still there: the city lies five kilometres below, with the dome in the middle of it.

Class: Five-star hotel
Opened: 1952
Rooms: 39 rooms and suites
Area: Fiesole

Florence this week

What sets Villa San Michele apart

The view
From the long arcade on the south side, where dinner is served in summer, Florence is spread out below as on a map.
The convent
It was founded in 1413 by Niccolò Davanzati for a community of friars, and belonged to the Franciscans from 1486 until Napoleon's government closed it in 1808.
The front
The building owes its present shape to the enlargement by the painter and architect Santi di Tito in 1599 and 1600. Tradition, more generous, gives the façade to Michelangelo.
The gardens
Terraces of lemon trees, roses and wisteria climb the hill behind, with the pool at the top.

What it has

Three restaurants
Pool with a view
Terraced gardens
Bar
Shuttle to the centre

Where Villa San Michele is

Address

Via Doccia 4
50014 Fiesole, Italy

Nearest tram

Unità, on lines T1 and T2, beside Santa Maria Novella station, about 5 kilometres away. Bus 7 runs from the centre to Fiesole

Friars, then a family, then a hotel

After the convent was suppressed in 1808 it passed through several owners, who turned it into a villa and laid out the terraced garden. The Second World War left it badly damaged.

The Tessier family, who then owned it, decided that the only way to pay for the repairs was to open it as a hotel, and did so in 1952. It is now one of the Belmond hotels.