LUCA GUADAGNINO DESIGNS HIS FIRST HOTEL IN ROME
The director of A Bigger Splash, Call Me by Your Name, Challengers, and the upcoming Queer continues to showcase his talents in interior design. With the restoration of the Palazzo Talìa hotel, he has contributed to the décor, creating a timeless journey through the splendors of Rome.
“My secret desire is to become an interior designer.” That’s what Luca Guadagnino declared in a 2016 interview with The New York Times about decorating his 17th-century apartment in Crema, Italy. A year later, the Oscar-nominated Italian director realized his dream and founded his own firm, studiolucaguadagnino (SLG). He insists it’s spelled as one word. Since his first project, the villa of the Yoox founder on Lake Como, this multi-talented designer has been constantly expanding his portfolio. This lover of interior design has renovated a villa on the Lido in Venice, designed several boutiques, presented showrooms at the Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone, and recently served as art director for the third edition of Homo Faber. Here, he adds another stone to his edifice by taking over the interiors of the Palazzo Talìa hotel, which reopened in May 2024.
A PLACE STEEPED IN HISTORY
This architectural gem has been brought back to life through a meticulous three-year restoration, spearheaded by the Federici family, particularly Elia Federici, the project's patron. This construction and real estate specialist commissioned three leading Italian artisans: Luca Guadagnino's studio, MIA Home Design Gallery, and Laura Feroldi Studio.
This building, constructed in the 16th century, has withstood the test of time and upheaval, leaving a rich legacy of a historic past, like "an unshakeable sentinel of resilience." It has hosted cardinals, nobles, humanists, scholars, film legends such as De Sica, Rossellini, and Leone, and withstood the dark days of Nazism.
For the filmmaker and producer, originally from Palermo in Sicily, this is his first foray into the hotel industry. In this project, he masterfully combines cinematic aesthetic sensibility with a deep appreciation of textures, colors, and spaces.
ODE TO LA DOLCE VITA
This haven of hospitality beautifully showcases its architectural heritage while seamlessly blending into the contemporary landscape. This begins with its entrance, adorned with a central staircase and a vibrant floral carpet designed by the director's team. This centerpiece serves as a pathway, winding its way to the upper floor, which houses, among other things, the Magna Hall, a 248-square-meter event space decorated with 18th-century frescoes by the painter Gaspare Serenario.
Of the hotel's 26 rooms and suites, his studio was notably responsible for the Terrace Suite on the top floor. It features "peach wood, a sloping roof, shades of pink, a fireplace, and a bed designed like an alcove." The suite is further enhanced by a 66-square-meter terrace overlooking the Palazzo's inner courtyard and the Basilica of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte.
The team adds to this beautiful design work the common areas, the Tramae restaurant, for a tribute to Roman cuisine, the Della Musa bar, and the wellness spa which also revives the heritage of the eternal city, with marbles and majolica tiles.
Accompanied by the two other studios, Luca Guadagnino thus brings this place with its timeless charm back to life, with that refined sophistication, that taste for detail and that aesthetic sensitivity, already inherent in his work in cinema.
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