Palazzo Serristori, a newly restored palace housing luxury apartments, is a presence among the terracotta rooftops in Florence. Unoccupied for 30 years, its frescoed ceilings and gilded salons gathering dust, the building was sold hours before Italy went into lockdown in 2020. Marco Casarola, president of LDC Hotels & Resorts, the developer behind its €35m ($41m) makeover, says high-end properties were valued at €10,000 per square metre in 2017. Today they fetch double the price.