Florence has no shortage of stunningly preserved historic homes—but a modern residence carved from a former theater tower, complete with a glass-bottom indoor swimming pool suspended in midair, is something else entirely.

When architect Stefano Tozzi set out to find a home more than a decade ago, he had one priority: sweeping views across the city. However, his broker insisted he look at an unusual option in the city’s bohemian Santo Spirito neighborhood, a cavernous space in the former fly loft of a 19th-century theater, once used to lift stage scenery out of sight. There were no panoramic views, but Tozzi saw something else: potential.

“The opportunity was to create an architectural work within an existing volume in the heart of Florence’s historic center,” says Tozzi, founder of the design and architecture firm AE5 Partners, describing the structure just steps from the Basilica of Santo Spirito and Brunelleschi’s Palazzo Pitti. He purchased the property in 2015 and spent the next six years transforming it—largely by hand alongside a retired carpenter friend—into what feels less like a residential renovation and more like an inhabitable sculpture.

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The almost 6,500-square-foot home unfolds across three levels beneath staggering 43-foot ceilings, with mezzanines linked by a custom teak staircase that Tozzi personally designed down to each wooden tread. The architect, who grew up in Siena, drew inspiration from both local history and Japanese minimalism, balancing warmth with restraint.

Then there’s the showstopper: a suspended swimming pool with a transparent base hovering above the main living area. Inspired by a dreamlike underwater scene in the 2012 film Life of Pi, the pool refracts light, shifting ever-changing reflections into the lounge below. Unsurprisingly, engineering it proved to be the project’s greatest challenge. “Keeping the pool from leaking even a single drop of water,” Tozzi says, “was the hardest part.”

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Walnut wood, Calacatta marble, and translucent panels soften the industrial bones of the former theater, and a verdant living wall layers in an added sense of nature. The primary suite includes a fitness area and a Turkish bath, while a top-level bar and cinema lounge add a playful counterpoint to the architectural rigor. A secluded patio and secure garage complete the surprisingly private city retreat.

Tozzi, who has collaborated with architects including Zaha Hadid and Daniel Libeskind on Milan’s CityLife development, has lived here with his family for several years. Now, he says, he’s ready to imagine the next project—perhaps, finally, one with a view. “There’s never a right moment to sell,” he says. “After living in a place I’ve designed with love, I start dreaming about the next one.” Luca Ceruti and Donatella Gagliano at Savills are representing the €13.5 million (roughly $16 million) listing.

Click here to see more photos of the Florence home.