At Palazzina Maresa, AFSa creates a space where hospitality, design, and cultural research converge. Spread over four floors with Italian gardens and common areas that become venues for exhibitions and cultural events, the space fosters a dialogue between hospitality and culture, a community that engages designers, artisans, artists, and guests in a narrative rooted in the building's history.
The design establishes a dialogue with the 1920s and interprets references to the architecture and arts of that era from a contemporary perspective. Built with materials and artisans from the Tuscan region, it features restored original marble, stone, and stucco. The interior retains the high ceilings and original details, creating a coherent whole with a strong local identity, yet diverse.
Palazzina Maresa by AFSa. Photograph by Lorenzo Zandri.
Project description by AFSa
Palazzina Maresa, inaugurated in Florence on June 14, 2025, is the result of the transformation of a 1926 family home into eight residential units designed by eight designers, with common areas dedicated to artistic and cultural research.
Identity
The name of the project pays homage to Maresa, the grandmother who lived in this place for over eighty years. The bond with her grandson Eugenio is reflected in the decision to give the building a new identity, while keeping its architectural features and welcoming spirit intact. Palazzina Maresa thus becomes a place where hospitality, design, and cultural research come together.
Between design and hospitality
The building, spread over four floors with Italian gardens and common areas, is designed for medium-short stays. Each unit has been entrusted to emerging Florentine designers. The guiding theme of the renovation was a dialogue with the 1920s, when the building was constructed. Each designer was asked to interpret references to the architecture and arts of the period in a contemporary key. Materials and craftsmen from the Tuscan region were used, with particular attention to marble, stone, and original plasterwork that was brought back to light. The interiors retain their high ceilings and period details, with design choices that evoke the architecture, visual arts, and even cinema of the period. The result is a collection of coherent yet diverse spaces, united by a strong local identity.
Hospitality and culture in dialogue
Palazzina Maresa is not only a place of hospitality, but also a place dedicated to artistic and cultural research and expression. The common areas and Italian gardens become venues for exhibitions and cultural events, opening up to a wider audience and creating connections between guests, artists, and the local community.
A community under construction
The future of Palazzina Maresa is not limited to the walls of the building. The project aims to create a cultural community involving designers, artisans, artists, and guests, each called upon to contribute to a shared narrative rooted in the history of the building.
