In 1865, when it became the hotel for MPs in Florence, which was then the capital of Italy, the Hotel Cavour very diplomatically took the name of Italy’s first prime minister, Camillo Benso, Count Cavour.
The sixteenth-century palazzo of the Baldovini was turned into a hotel when Florence became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Just near Palazzo Vecchio, the parliament building, it became the hotel for MPs and opened its doors to the Prime Minister Bettino Ricasoli and General Cialdini. Close to the theatres, it was adored by great actors and actresses, and was the Florentine home of Paola Borboni, Eduardo De Filippo, and the director Bertolucci. The magnificent nineteenth-century hall and the fabulous restaurant decorated and frescoed by Galileo Chini have retained all their original glory. The terrace has a breathtaking view of the cathedral.
