In Florence's Sant'Ambrogio quarter, a Renaissance palazzo built in 1564 — once a convent, now carrying five centuries of accumulated life within its walls — opened in 2025 as The James Suite Hotel Firenze 1564, the debut hospitality project from architect and designer James Cavagnari of Prima Design. The number mounted on the terracotta facade is not a street address but a founding date, a quiet declaration of exactly what Cavagnari was working with and chose not to conceal. The renovation preserves the structural drama intact: groin-vaulted ceilings and arched openings frame the inner courtyard, now enclosed by a steel-and-glass roof that floods the bar and lounge with natural light while tropical palms and fringed table lamps create an atmosphere closer to a Florentine fever dream than a conventional hotel lobby. Across the 14 suites, Cavagnari layers the original rough-plastered walls and exposed timber beam ceilings against bespoke contemporary pieces — a channelled teal velvet sofa beside an arched blue headboard in one room, a deep crimson upholstered bed flanked by mushroom-cap silk lamps and fur-draped brass stools in another. Tuscan craft runs through the material choices, but the eclecticism is distinctly English in its confidence, mixing antique rugs, sculpture, and framed works without apology. The rooftop terrace, furnished with bistro rattan chairs and candy-striped banquettes, frames Florence's Jewish Great Synagogue dome at sunset, the Apennines beyond.

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