Legendary Italian luxury fashion house Bulgari is set to open its first hotel in the Eternal City in 2023. Bulgari Hotel Roma will be located in the Campo Marzio neighborhood, a stone’s throw away from iconic sites such as the Spanish Steps, Via del Corso, and Piazza del Popolo. The Italian jeweler has a flagship store nearby on Via Condotti, a high-end offshoot of Via del Corso. The hotel was initially set to open in 2022, but was delayed to an unspecified date in 2023 for unknown reasons.
“We think Rome deserves more luxury hotels since it is a revelation tourist destination which, in Europe, probably has the biggest potential in terms of attracting high-level guests,” said Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin in a promotional video in 2021. “The Bulgari Hotel will be the most luxurious hotel ever built in Rome.”
Bulgari Hotel Roma is being built within a 1930s-era modernist building that faces two important Roman landmarks: the Ara Pacis, an Ancient Roman altar dedicated to Pax, the Roman goddess of peace; and the Mausoleum of Augustus, a tomb dedicated to Augustus, the first Roman emperor. The mausoleum, which is the largest circular tomb in the world, reopened to the public in 2021 after 14 years of restoration. “The collaboration between Rome and Bulgari, a brand full of history and Italian excellence, continues,” remarked Virigina Raggi in 2021. Raggi was Rome’s first female mayor who served between 2016 and 2021.
BULGARI’S HISTORY
Bulgari was founded in Rome in 1884 by Greek silversmith Sotirio Bulgari. The first store opened on Via Sistina, a major street connecting Piazza Trinità dei Monti to Piazza Barberini. By the 1920s, jewelry collections incorporated platinum and diamond in Art Déco designs, according to Bulgari. The trademark Bulgari designs began emerging in the 1940s – yellow gold became a focal point and jewelry took on serpentine aspects.
In the early 1970s, amid waves of success, Bulgari expanded into other European countries as well as into the United States. Collections made bold statements as jewelry designs began incorporating novel materials including porcelain, silk, steel, and wood, according to Bulgari. Today, the Italian luxury fashion house is one of the most internationally recognized brands and is a symbol of Italian excellence.
THE BUILDING AND AMENITIES
The building Bulgari Hotel Roma will occupy was built between 1936 and 1938 by architect Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo. The restoration of the building’s interior and exterior will be handled by Italian architecture firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, which manages all Bulgari Hotel properties.
According to Bulgari, the hotel will be accented with ochre Travertine marble and burnt red brick to invoke the essence of Ancient Rome. There will also be a rotating collection of modern and antique art on display. The hotel will have 114 rooms, a spa, pool, and library dedicated to the history of jewelry. It will also feature a rooftop terrace and bar, managed by Italian, Michelin-starred chef Niko Romito, with 360-degree views of the city. The hotel’s crown jewel will be its Bulgari Suite, which will have eight windows facing out onto the Mausoleum of Augustus. “The ultimate goal is to elevate Rome’s hospitality offerings in order to bring the city to the same standards of other European capitals,” said Babin in 2021.
Bulgari has additional hotels in Milan, London, Bali, Moscow, Dubai, Shanghai, Paris, and Beijing. The Italian fashion house will also be opening up hotels in Tokyo in 2023, Miami Beach and Ranfushi in 2025, and Los Angeles in 2026. Additional information on Bulgari Hotel Roma can be found here.
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura,The Christian Science Monitor and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.