The hotel encloses a lovely inner garden with pool, a small jewel rarely found in Florence?s centre. Enjoy tranquility and relax among magnolias and wisterias, sunbathe or take a refreshing dip in the pool. From the last floor you can reach the spacious panoramic terrace, yet another one of the hotel's enviable assets with a bar available for cocktails on sunny days. From here the eyes take in an evocative, sweeping 360-degree vista comprising of the elegant, sophisticated shape of the Duomo against the backdrop of Florentine hills, the red cupola by Brunelleschi, the whiteness of the marble embellished with green of the glorious Santa Maria Novella fa?ade and its soaring Romanic-Gothic bell tower. At sunset this wondrous view lights up with all the nuances of red, yellow and gold springing forth from rooftops and building fa?ades. Set in old Florence just a few steps away from Santa Maria Novella, Hotel Croce di Malta is the ideal place to find rest after an intense workday, an important conference or a lengthy visit to Florentine monuments. The hotel is located in what up until the mid 1800?s was the old Suore della Carit? (Sisters of Charity) convent, which offered hospitality to Florence?s ?poor, virtuous maidens?. The convent was built on a pre-existing building from Roman times. Marble sculptures and reliefs date back from this period, as well as a splendid column decorated with an Ionic capital that can still be admired today in various areas of the hotel. Its structure is a harmonious fusion of Tuscan renaissance forms and contemporary architectural design. The rooms and interior decoration stem from essential, pure geometrical forms where the meticulous play of full and empty shapes creates a special, modern ambience.