Marusca was the perfect host--she was extremely attentive via email and answered all our questions quickly and accurately. We arrived in the rain, and before we had all of our luggage out of the taxi I was greeted by name and welcomed to the building and the apartment. Marusca's agent, Anna, showed us around the apartment, giving pointers on the door lock and sharing any information we could ask for, including directions to the market (less than a block away) and suggestions for excellent restaurants (there are too many to list within walking distance of the apartment). She let us know she was available any time if we had questions, and made sure we felt welcome immediately.

The apartment itself was amazing--it is truly a special place that we felt lucky to be in. It is larger than it appears in the photos, is very tastefully decorated, and has a very large kitchen equipped with most everything you need to cook at home. The dining area was comfortable and has a great window that looks at the Duomo, the bedrooms were comfortable and spaced on opposite sides of the bathroom for maximum privacy, and the living room was spacious and has very comfortable furniture. The real star, however, is the amazing terrace--we spent almost all our time at home sitting on the terrace either having morning coffee or an afternoon or evening glass of wine. It made it very difficult to leave because all of Florence was laid out before us we had the expansive feeling of being above it all.

It has a perfect location on the quieter side of the Ponte Vecchio--almost any of the major sites are less than 10 minutes by foot (you can see the Uffizi in the photo it's so close). As we were sightseeing, we were able to go back to the terrace for a glass of wine between galleries, which was a delight. There is a taxi stand about 50 feet from the front door, so cabs were easy when we needed them.

This apartment is not only beautiful, but also an incredible value, especially compared to comparable hotel rooms with terraces overlooking the Ponte Vecchio. I was hesitant to praise it too much for fear it would become too popular to rent or the price would go up, but nothing we looked at when researching places to stay came close so I have to be honest and say this was the best place we've ever rented through AirBnb. We will stay here every time we are in Florence.