Photographer: © Anna Galante für Filippo Bombace
Photographer: © Anna Galante für Filippo Bombace
Photographer: © Anna Galante für Filippo Bombace
All roads lead to Rome
But only a select few can enjoy exclusive service in the six suites of the Gigli d'Oro Suite.
Rome is also a city in transition. Because it is rare for construction work to be permitted in the city centre for reasons of monument preservation and because the archaeological finds to be expected can turn the work into complex projects, expansion takes place on the outskirts of the city. But you must also be able to find an antiquated streetscape with narrow plots in small, cramped lanes in a city as steeped in history as Rome. If you come across such a jewel, you will do your utmost to preserve the charm of the discovered material.
This was how it was when renovating and converting an historic 15th century palazzo, close to the Piazza Navona, which epitomises the Baroque city squares in Rome.
Once the construction work was complete, there was a small, but very fine boutique hotel of just six suites and a lounge, on only three levels and on a mezzanine floor. Exclusive and luxurious, comfortable and one thing above all – highly personal. Not a simple underpinning, as there is a thin dividing line between the irreparable destruction of history and the necessary incorporation of contemporary materials and modern technology. There is also a risk of improvisation, from just imitating what, at this point, is a no longer contemporary historicism.
Gigli d'Oro is the successful symbiosis of past and present. After removing the superfluous insertions of previous decades and bringing out the raw feel and look of the material, the pure atmosphere of the space comes back into it‘s own. Old structural elements such as cross vaulting, masonry, preserved mediaeval wooden-beamed ceilings, old portals, staircases and ancient fireplaces, are a desirable contrast to the light, modern choice of materials and the contemporary methods of working. Some of the floor tiles and terracotta bricks are historical, and in combination with the old paintings, provide affectionate arrangements with well-chosen designer furniture and lighting. The range of colours indicates a clear preference for the colour white, both in the selection of furniture and in the material. There is white, flattering Corian in the bathroom area, matt painted surfaces, stainless steel, leather and textiles – an agreeable contrast to the old fragments. And if this not yet dolce vita enough for you, you can go and have your wish granted at the nearby Fontana di Trevi.
Gigli d'Oro Suite – Jeune srl
Architektur/Innenarchitektur: architetto Filippo Bombace
Armaturen Dornbracht: Lulu, MEM
Photographer: © Anna Galante für Filippo Bombace
Photographer: © Anna Galante für Filippo Bombace
Photographer: © Anna Galante für Filippo Bombace
Photographer: © Anna Galante für Filippo Bombace