This is a great place for two, with a sleep-able couch for that last minute person who decides to join you. It’s in a good location for touring all the sites, shopping, markets and restaurants. I walked over a hundred kilometers in and around the city and the streets seems quite safe, day and night.
The apartment has a functional kitchen with a gas stove and a electric tea kettle. Restaurants are, of course, fantastic but you can eat quite well by going to the nearby markets (Mercato di Sant’ Ambrogio in piazza Ghiberti is less than a km away), buying fresh food and cooking it yourself. When you go shopping, please bring a reusable shopping bag, they overuse them in Italy and Italy’s countryside is littered with plastic bags. On the morning walk to the market (it closes at 14.00 and on Sundays) you’ll pass wonderful cafes, stop in, have an espresso or cappuccino and a pastry, and marvel at the incivility of mega-supermarkets.
The apartment is on the 4th floor so you have a nice view from the terrace. It is a lovely old stone building with all the charm you’d imagine. There are 107 stairs to climb if you don’t use the elevator, a decent cardio workout. It’s a good elevator, but we needed to work off some calories.
As for essentials, the wireless is excellent. Good speed and you stay connected. The shower is good, plenty of hot water. Yes, it’s small but how big does a shower really have to be? A nice touch, rare in Europe, is a blow dryer.
The apartment and residents are quiet. There’s a new washing machine and a drying rack that usually lives on the terrace. The steam radiators provide a good spot for drying clothes, too. Dryers are so wasteful but there’s a laundry right around the corner with dryers if you need one in an emergency. The apartment was cold when we arrived (in November) but once it warmed up (it is a massive old stone building) it was quite warm. We travel with a little 10 euro radiant heater and didn’t need it much.
Lorenzo and Livia are outstanding hosts, incredibly responsive and kind, reason enough to book their apartment!