Hotel Laurus al Duomo

The Hotel Laurus al Duomo [1] is a hotel in Florence, in the historical Via de’ Cerretani, with a façade in Via dell’Alloro. The building is about 70 meters away from Piazza del Duomo, Florence, the Florence Cathedral and the Giotto's Campanile. The building is not far from the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and from the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station. The building is also in front of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Florence. The building of the hotel is also the location of Auditorium al Duomo and of Cafè Astra al Duomo. The hotel, together with Hotel Pitti Palace al Ponte Vecchio, Auditorium al Duomo and Caffè Astra al Duomo is part of the system Centro Congressi al Duomo and shares the ethos Life Beyond Tourism.

Hotel Laurus al Duomo
Hotel Laurus al Duomo
General information
LocationItaly
AddressVia de’ Cerretani 54/r
Town or cityFlorence
Country Italy
Coordinates43°46′24.25″N 11°15′9.68″E
Website
Official website

History

Part of the building of the Hotel Laurus al Duomo was the ancient location of the Oratory of the “Societas Beati Bartolomei”, whose protector was Saint Bartholomew.[2] In Via de’ Cerretani, till the mid 19th century, stood the palaces of the Carnesecchi and the Cappelli houses.[3] When Florence became Italy’s capital city (1864-1870), the area was reorganized one first time. A new reorganization took place in the 1930s and Via de’ Cerretani was widened. Many medieval buildings were pulled down and replaced by modern palaces[4]

Hotel Laurus before restoration
Hotel laurus courtyard

In the 1970s an important restoration of the building begun but the historic 1800 façade was maintained. During the 1966 Flood of the Arno River the hotel was under construction . Only the basements, the stairs and the third floor garret had been built. Probably these structures prevented the tumbling down of the nearby edifices. In 1972 part of the building was turned into a first class 4 stars hotel with the name of “Laurus”, to keep some memory of the ancient history of the area and in particular of the laurel grove placed between Via dell’Alloro and Via del Giglio. In 1989 the Hotel Laurus al Duomo was acquired by the hotel company Vivahotels. In 2004 the hotel was restored once again to the shape it has today.

Auditorium al Duomo and Laurus entrance

Interior

The hotel offers 50 rooms of different categories, equipped and styled with typical 1800s Florentine furniture. From the terrace at the top floor it is possible to get an unusual panoramic view on the Brunelleschi's dome

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See also

References
  1. Hotel Laurus al Duomo
  2. Anna Benvenuti, “Il sovramondo delle arti fiorentine. Tra i santi delle corporazioni”, in “Arti fiorentine. La grande storia dell’artigianato, vol I, Il Medioevo, Florence, 1998, p. 16.
  3. Piero Bargellini, Ennio Guarnieri, “Le strade di Firenze”, Florence, Bonechi, 1980, sub Cerretani
  4. Le strade di Firenze, sub Cerretani.

Bibliography
  • Piero Bargellini, Ennio Guarnieri, “Le strade di Firenze”, Florence, Bonechi, 1980.
  • Anna Benvenuti, “Il sovramondo delle arti fiorentine. Tra i santi delle corporazioni”, in “Arti fiorentine. La grande storia dell’artigianato, vol I, Il Medioevo, Florence, 1998, p. 16.
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