The location could hardly be better, as the apartment looks directly out onto the Piazza della Signoria, at Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery. If you are considering whether to stay here, I urge you to do so unless your other options include a suite in a 5-star hotel or a palace. This apartment is very close to everything you could want in Firenze. The Ponte Vecchio is five minutes away, the Duomo is perhaps a 7-minute walk if the Via dei Calzaiuoli is not too crowded (it usually is). Santa Croce is similarly close. Three days in a row, my wife and I left the apartment and were at the SMN train station in under 20 minutes (we walk pretty quickly though). Here are some items of practicality that may be useful to you when deciding to stay with Donatella. The apartment looks just as advertised. The photo of the window and the desk, looking out at the Palazzo Vecchio, are accurate. If you've traveled much, this will immediately raise concerns regarding noise. But, the windows are modern and double-paned glass, and can be covered by heavy wooden shutters on the inside. Two times during our stay there were military bands on the piazza outside, and we were able to block out the sound simply by closing the windows. If you sleep in the bedroom and not the living room, you can close two doors between you and the piazza, turn on the A/C, and sleep in total darkness and quiet. On the weekends you may hear some noise coming from the Via della Condata, but I expect that anywhere on a Saturday night. The apartment has three separate A/C units and you can actually get the apartment quite cold. I would not worry about staying there even in the heat of summer. There are two full bathrooms. One is significantly smaller than the other, but both have sinks, bidets, toilets, and showers. The larger one has a tub shower. There appears to be plenty of hot water - we never ran out. Water pressure is good. Security is good. You will be given three keys. One lets you into the building through a very heavy metal door that will definitely let you feel some peace of mind about anyone getting into the building. The second key lets you into a shared foyer (two other apartments share it) and the third lets you into the apartment. The apartment door has a deadbolt as well. I feel that it is at least as secure as any hotel, if not more so. The building has a tiny elevator. You will have to climb about 16 stairs to the landing from the front door to get to the elevator; it does not come to the ground floor. You must manually open and close the elevator doors. If you don't, the elevator will stay where you leave it.