I currently live and study in Florence but I needed a place to stay at during the 3 weeks my university housing was going to be closed. My mom, sister and I had a great time living in Mario's apartment during the holidays. The apartment itself is equipped with absolutely everything you could possibly need - no matter how long your stay. It is about a 30 second walk from the train station of Castello where you can catch the hourly train to downtown Florence and be there in 10 minutes! Also there is a bus stop at the opposite end of the street that will take you to downtown Florence. There is two supermarket stores within walking distance to buy food and groceries as well - not to mention a great cafe, gelateria, and pizzeria!

Mario is an unbelievable host! He was nice enough to allow me to tour the apartment months before I moved in with my mom and sister. He also was gracious enough to pick up AND drop off my mom and sister at the airport! He offered to drive us to Siena or other small Tuscan towns that are harder to get to on public transport but sadly our schedule were already pretty full. He goes above and beyond as a host and filled the fridge and pantry with food to start of our stay. Once emailed him about forgetting how to work the water heater and he was at the apartment in five minutes ready to help!

I HIGHLY recommend staying at this lovely apartment :)