Staying in Conte's apartment was a fabulous experience! The building itself is a magnificent Renaissance Palazzo belonging to the Guicciardini family and is right on the Arno River. Conte has obviously brought it back to mint condition. His mother met us at the door and showed us around the apartment. It is SPACIOUS well beyond beyond what you can tell from the photos. And the remodeling, done by Conte's mother, is gorgeous. Every piece of furniture she chose is in impecable taste – minimalist modern and of very high quality. (In a photo of the br, the rug looks wrinkled; it's not old, it's brand new and had recently been unrolled. We went barefoot in the apartment so we could enjoy that rug.) Kitchen is well equipped (everything, the latest style and the highest quality). The view outside is incredible! The apartment is on the fourth floor (thebuildng has an elevator), and the enourmous br window looks out onto the river below. You can see scullers gliding by throughout the day ) and we had unbelievable views of the elegant Ponte Santa Trinita Bridge (designed by Michelangelo, and literally 20-second walk from the building's front door), and the Ponte Vecchio beyond that. The windows are actually double-paned, so when they're closed, outside sounds do not penetrate – great sleeping. The best part of this apartment, though, is the owners. They were always available to help us when we needed it – as when I broke the door key and locked us in the apartment. Conte arrived about 10 minutes after I called him and let us out. We were only 15 minutes late meeting our friends for dinner; we called Conte when dinner was over; and he met us back outside the apartment with the new key.