Historic Florentine college reopens as luxury hotel Collegio alla Querce

The Collegio alla Querce, a 16th-century villa in Florence that served as a prestigious college for over a century, has reopened as an 83-room luxury hotel under the Auberge Resorts Collection. The restoration was led by Spanish architecture firm Esteva i Esteva, with interiors by Florentine team ArchFlorence. The property features original elements including a chapel with marble floors and carved ceilings, a theater with wooden fixtures, and Baroque terraced gardens restored by landscape architect Francesca Watson. Founded in 1868 by the Barnabite Fathers as an extension of the Collegio Carlo Alberto in Moncalieri, the college housed a library with over 70,000 documents and a geodynamic observatory established in 1870 that contributed to seismology research. After closing in 2003, the villa was acquired by Leeu Collection in 2013 and underwent meticulous restoration. The hotel includes two restaurants and a bar, with the bar located in the former dean's office. General Manager Lorenzo Maraviglia noted that the chapel and theater will host cultural events open to the community, and former alumni have expressed strong enthusiasm for the conversion. The project also incorporated eco-friendly technologies such as low-consumption lighting, rainwater recovery systems, and natural local materials.