An architect’s home built inside the former fly loft of a 19th-century theatre in Florence has come up for sale for the first time since it was finished. The residence in Santo Spirito, designed by Stefano Tozzi of AE5 Partners for himself, is being marketed by Savills at €13.5m and is centred on a suspended swimming pool with a glass bottom.
Tozzi found the space, the upper part of the theatre where scenery was once hoisted out of view above the stage, in 2015. He had been searching for a property with a view across the city, but his estate agent persuaded him to look at this mostly top-lit volume instead. The conversion took six years, with the original fabric of the old theatre kept on show. The building kept its monumental masonry walls, a large brick arch and several architectural features that are older than the theatre itself.
The interior rises about 13 metres and is arranged over three levels. The kitchen and living area occupy the lowest floor, beneath the brick arch, where a ribbed timber form divides the space and freestanding custom cabinets separate the kitchen from a dining niche. Bedrooms and bathrooms are tucked into the high eaves. Between them sits the pool, with roof lights allowing daylight to pass through the water to the floors below. A teak staircase winds through the original arch and a timber counterpart, an effect the source compares to Piranesi’s drawings.
The material palette combines walnut, Calacatta marble and translucent polycarbonate panels that filter light and shadow. The principal suite opens directly onto the pool and has a private fitness area with a Turkish bath. A vertical garden sends greenery cascading down through the interior, and the top floor holds a bar and a cinema lounge. With light arriving from above and filtering through both the water and the translucent panels, the mood of the rooms changes through the day.
In total the property extends to 600 square metres. It also includes guest rooms, an independent annexe, a private garage and a small urban patio, a rare combination in the historic centre. Santo Spirito, on the south bank of the Arno, is described as one of the most sought-after parts of the city, and the sale offers a buyer a home that few could replicate within Florence’s protected fabric.
