Other than the two problems described below, we generally enjoyed our time in Florence and our stay at Apt Riccardo. The location is excellent - walking distance to all of the major sites/locations. The apartment is very spacious. The apartment was clean (except for the couches, which look worn down and stained). We felt safe in the apartment and the neighborhood the apartment is located. The upstairs bedroom was clean and comfortable. The air conditioning worked well. The bathroom and shower were fine (although guests should bring their own toiletries as the options provided at the apartment were limited and non-ideal). Here were our two major problems:
(1) We feel that the description of the "free parking" can be misleading. It was advertised as 3km away from the apartment. However, after arriving and speaking with Riccardo, we learned that the free parking option was a street parking option across the river in another neighborhood that was about 5km away (based on our Google Maps search of the address). Riccardo did offer to drive his car with us to the location, but the language barrier made communication and coordination difficult for us to feel safe and secure about the option. For those reasons, we decided to park in a nearby parking garage for 25 euro per day. That would have been fine if we were told that upfront. But we were under the impression that the "free parking" option would have been a legitimate option, which it wasn't in our view. This made the initial arrival experience a bit unsettling.
(2) There was a very bad mosquito problem during our stay. We were probably bitten more than 20 times each. We didn't see this in any other reviews, so maybe it was a one-time problem. In any event, the mosquito problem must be addressed.