Johanna Vitta, an acclaimed Florentine artist, and man of extraordinary taste, is the mind behind a hotel and villa empire, which includes the Johanna I B&B, as well as the
Antica Dimora, both of which we visited.
The hotel itself occupies space in a lavish 19th-century palazzo with wide corridors and high ceilings. Each of its ten rooms has a French country feel. Warm wood furniture is classic and slightly antique, with just enough detailing to keep things elegant, along with the heaviness that so often accompanies fine furniture of yore. Original tiled floors are polished and gorgeous, with bright-colored rugs to keep feet warm in the winter. Bedding and accents come in bold red, green, and blue, with dun-striped headboards and sophisticated (not shiny) brocades.
Bathrooms are fabulous, with fully functional antique appliances from the faucet to the bidet, and clean, white tiles. A plentiful breakfast is served in the breakfast room, or available as a takeaway buffet on beautiful, sculpted wood trays.
You'll sleep like a baby in the quiet, residential neighborhood, near the Accademia, Piazza San Marco, and a short walk from the Basilica of San Lorenzo, home to the Medici Tombs by Michelangelo.
While rates run at the upper border of the Cheapo spectrum, the Johanna I is worth every cent of the borderline splurge.
