Raffaella's apartment is in a beautiful building on a quiet little street in the centre of the sights (5 minutes walk from the Duomo with lots of churches in every direction, 25 minutes walk to the station/river). The end of the street towards the Duomo becomes lively with locals in the evening thanks to a little piazza of bars.
The apartment sprawls with little rooms tucked away here and there, with a main bedroom on the ground floor just inside the apartment, a second mezzanine level bedroom up a small spiral staircase, and kitchen near the street at the end of a hallway with the bathroom. The kitchen is cosy, rustic and well equipped, with pots and pans on display (plus coffee and a selection of Moka percolators, to our relief!).
There is a locked off staircase into the basement, a mysterious locked door in the bedroom and a large dark void into another part of the building below the bedroom ceiling where wall should be, but it's not exactly 'haunted mansion' stuff. The layout of the main bed space below the mezzanine office is cute and tasteful, and there is plenty of storage space for clothes.
The fresco arched ceiling you see in the pictures really is part of the courtyard if you were wondering! Quite stunning, although you'll be busy staring at the rest of the city around you instead.
Communication came readily (all in Italian but fine with translation if you need, and good spoken English in person) and Raffaella was keen to adapt our check-in to suit. She continued to ensure everything was fine with our stay right until we left.
We really enjoyed our stay with Raffaella in Florence.