A hidden soul shaped fifteen centuries ago, now opening its portrait windows to the streets below, its rooms to quiet light, its table to a singular culinary journey. This is the Torre della Pagliazza, set in the intimate pocket of Piazza Sant’Elisabetta, just steps from the Duomo, yet belonging to a much earlier Florence. Its origins remain debated, but are consistently placed between the sixth and seventh centuries, and it is widely regarded as the oldest building still standing in the historic center.

unusually circular, almost defiant in a city of straight lines and stone corners. That curve is not a romantic accident. During excavations connected to the latest restoration, it emerged that the tower rests on Roman foundations— including a circular wall linked to a basin or room of a thermal structure from ancient Florentia. The geometry beneath is one of the reasons the tower’s form is so rare in Florence. How the tower first rose is part of its mystery. Some theories connect it to the Byzantines, in the era of the Gothic War and possible defensive works; others suggest a later origin under the Lombards, as a house-tower. Either way, it stands at that threshold where the classical world has receded and the medieval city is still taking shape—an age where stone lasts longer than records.

it is cited in 1268 as a prison, and in 1285 specifically as a women’s prison. Its name is said to come from the straw mattresses – paglia -on which detainees lay. Later, the tower was reused as the bell tower of the nearby church known as San Michele alle Trombe, later Sant’Elisabetta, whose traces still survive in the adjoining building. In the twentieth century, the Pagliazza was brought back into view through a major restoration funded by INA and designed by architect Italo Gamberini (1983–1988). The intervention freed the tower from structures that obscured it from the street and created a small archaeological display at its base, visitable on request -an intimate reminder that Florence is a city built on cities.

The restoration also uncovered an extraordinary archaeological heritage, leading to the creation of Hotel Brunelleschi’s private museum. Here, guests can discover the Roman calidarium brought to light during the excavations, together with an exceptional collection of Roman, medieval and Renaissance artefacts, historic ceramics and photographs documenting the restoration. More than a museum, it is an invitation to explore the many layers of history hidden beneath the hotel and to experience Florence’s past from a truly unique perspective.