For five-star Florence there's only one hotel to check into

Luca’s is La Gemma’s fine-dining restaurant

Colour me surprised, but I didn’t know that Catherine de Medici, who is often called the Serpent Queen because of her scheming ways during her 16th-century reign as a Queen of France, was believed to have introduced the fork to the French court. Up until the Italian noblewoman’s arrival, knives were used for pretty much everything in terms of dining.

It’s one juicy titbit that our knowledgeable and friendly guide, Linda Sorgiovanni, from local luxury travel experts Italy Customized, shared during a fascinating gourmet food and wine tour around the city of Florence. It included a visit to the central market to sample delicious fritto misto amongst chattering locals and stalls laden with Tuscan produce, a stop-off at award-winning chocolatier, Slitti, to sip on the best hot chocolate and a wine-tasting and charcuterie session in Enoteca Alessi, in an exceptional cellar surrounded by 500-plus bottles of the stuff.

The excursion is one of the carefully curated Bespoke Offers, which roundly dispenses with the usual unimaginative alternatives in tourist-heavy destinations, that La Gemma Hotel can arrange for its guests, and we experienced it during a memorable three-night stay. Of course, the Medici family is generally known for its rise to prominence during the Renaissance, particularly within Florence, widely viewed as the birthplace of the period.

Ambitious Florentine families seized opportunities and competed for recognition in this exciting new society. Fast-forward several hundred years, and with the opening of their first hotel in 2023, the aforementioned La Gemma, the Cecchi family is not just keeping this noble pursuit alive but blowing much of the competition out of the water. That’s no easy feat in such a saturated market: Florence overflows with exceptional hotels, but a stay at the five-star, design-led boutique establishment left us in no doubt as to why it is pretty darn special.

Family and heritage are at the core of this hotel. Its name is an acronym of the first letter of the mother, father and five Cecchi offspring’s names, a dynamic clan with talents distilled from the worlds of fashion, architecture and design. A black-and-white photograph of parents Luca and Alessandra in their prime, all high cheekbones and impeccable Italian style, sits in pride of place in La Gemma’s equally elegant lobby.

Fittingly housed in the 19th-century Palazzo Paoletti, once the residence of the Guild of Hoteliers, the Cecchis have shrewdly eschewed the luxury hospitality sector’s usual preference for serene locations. The hotel is in the heart of the action, beside the central Piazza della Republica, but is tucked away in a tiny side street, creating an instant tranquil oasis far from the madding crowd visiting nearby attractions such as the Ponti Vecchio, the Uffizi and the Accademia Gallery.

Once inside, we felt like we’d been teleported back to the 1920s and Art Deco’s glamorous heyday. The entire hotel is a paean of praise to the period, featuring a palette of bold emerald greens and whisper-soft pinks, with gilt-edged mirrors and plush, studded velvet.

Our vast, 45m2 Prestige Suite on the fourth floor – there are 39 accommodations in total and eight choices, starting from Signature Rooms – had a perfect view of the magnificent red-brick dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. Echoes of the beauty of the 14th-century cathedral, such as pale marble and geometric tiling, run throughout the hotel.

Our suite featured luxury touches such as a temperature-controlled wine cellar and a coffee maker by fêted Italian brand Faber (it is Italy, after all), The bed was ridiculously comfortable, while the marble bathroom’s cavernous walk-in shower, bidet and range of heavenly, naturally scented rosemary and chia Votary toiletries also took things up a notch.

LUCA’s, La Gemma’s fine-dining restaurant, was named after the late father, and our tasting menu experience was certainly an exquisite tribute. Overseen by Michelin-starred Italian/Argentine head chef Paolo Airaudo, we sampled the four-course Menu La Gemma, the standout being a light-as-air goat cheese flan with persimmon caramel.

Our final bespoke guest excursion was a visit to Profumoir, held as the city’s most exclusive private perfumery. Set in an atmospheric atelier, the passion of owner Daniele Cavalli – son of fashion titan Roberto Cavalli – made our introduction to scent layering an almost religious experience. In another ‘every day is a school day’ moment, we learnt that Florence derives from the old Italian Fiorenza, meaning city of flowers. Catherine di Medici’s name cropped up again as it is widely accepted she took fragrance – created to mask pongy city smells – over to France.

Just as Catherine can be viewed as something of an early influencer, with La Gemma, the Cecchi dynasty is setting trends in the hospitality scene. Their ambition is to open a further five establishments in Italy’s other important cities, including Milan and Rome, so you’ll definitely be hearing their name again.

Signature Room from €400 per night. Lagemmahotel.com