Every so often in films, carpets steal the spotlight. There’s the hypnotic hexagonal pattern in The Shining’s Overlook Hotel, The Dude’s Persian rug in The Big Lebowski, or the Kubrick-inspired flooring in The Substance. And no premiere is complete without the deep plush of a freshly vacuumed red carpet. At Palazzo Talìa in Rome, designed by the studio of Call Me By Your Name movie director and screenwriter Luca Guadagnino, carpets play a similarly dramatic role. They sweep through the hallways in rich shades of peach, deep blue and burnt orange, playing off the colours of newly restored frescoes on the walls.
Like one of Guadagnino’s flicks, Palazzo Talìa has its own history full of characters. Since the 16th century, the building has housed a papal secretary, a cardinal, and other high-ranking members of the clergy. Later, it became a school for underprivileged kids, teaching future diplomats, politicians, and famous Italian actors including Carlo Verdone and Cristian De Sica. According to local legend, Julius Caesar once built a love nest on the spot for Cleopatra during one of her visits. It’s a story no one can prove, but is fun to imagine all the same.
The school closed its doors in 1999, and soon after, the Federici family stepped in to renovate the space, allowing it to play its latest role as a boutique hotel.
‘Would it be a reach to wonder if the hotel’s peach wood panelling is a nod to Call Me By Your Name?’
Guadagnino is known for films including Challengers, new Daniel Craig movie Queer, Bones and All, and perhaps most famously, 2017’s Call Me By Your Name. Fans of the Timothée Chalamet-led romance will know the aesthetic of the sun-drenched Italian villa in Moscazzano, where Chalamet and Armie Hammer (although the less said about Hammer the better right now) wile away a long, passionate summer.
With its airy spaces and storied Italian charm, Palazzo Talìa evokes a similar feel. And would it be a reach to pick up on the hotel’s peach wood panelling as a cheeky nod to, er, that scene? (If you haven’t seen Call Me By Your Name, watch it and you’ll never look at the fruit in the same way again).
Other eye-catching design looks come in Guadagnino’s 2018 remake of Suspiria, in which he drew on Bauhaus and Austrian Modernist details for the ballet school set (despite the Cold War-era Berlin it evoked, most of it was shot in a largely dilapidated hotel in Northern Italy). Even the staff’s uniforms give off a whiff of the cinematic: their shades of claret and gold have a certain Wes Anderson feel.
This is Studio Luca Guadagnino’s first hotel project, but his company has led on other breathtaking spaces. Take the Aesop store in Rome, where rough stone is set alongside pink marble to mimic the textures of the city. At Palazzo Talìa, Hollywood glamour meets Roman history, similarly blending traditional with modern to create a timeless feel. The basement spa is designed like an ancient bathhouse, accessed by a winding staircase with vaulted ceilings and green tiles that sparkle when catching the water’s light.
Spring is one of the best times to visit Rome. The days are getting longer, but it’s not at its sweltering summer peak that can make being a tourist feel tiring. Rome’s many gardens, including the lush Villa Borghese, the tranquil Orange Garden on the Aventine Hill, and the floral displays at the Roseto Comunale (Municipal Rose Garden) burst into full bloom. Dining al fresco (starting off, naturally, with an Aperol, Campari or Hugo) is one of the best ways to enjoy the city.
One place you can do that is Tramae, the hotel’s intimate restaurant, which is tucked within a lush, plant-filled courtyard. The menu opens with plump, freshly-caught oysters nestled on shaved ice. It ended on a high, too: a tiramisù “déjà vu” that perfected the classic, heaping rich mascarpone over chocolate and cocoa. You can expect bold flavours in Italy, where silky strands of pasta are slicked with guanciale and tomatoes burst with sweetness. It was a shame, then, when dishes such as the lemon risotto and beef tenderloin millefeuille weren’t quite well-seasoned enough to leave a lasting impression.
On the ground floor of Palazzo Talìa, Bar della Musa joins Rome’s coolest bars list as another unique spot for a nightcap. Old meets new, again: Italian masterpieces on the ceiling jostle for your attention alongside mirrored tiles. The hallways contain frescoes by 18th century painter Gaspare Serenari and striking busts of Romans with their noses knocked off. These contrast with sage green soft furnishings and playful pops of colour. “The past becomes something else — or maybe something again — when it’s in dialogue with the future,” Guadagnino told the FT about the design.
Talìa’s hotel’s rooms are in what used to be classrooms, and the beds have minimalist steel four poster stylings, suggesting the look of a school dormitory only with ten times more comfort. Bathrooms are kitted out with playful geometric tiles and giant white bathtubs which could easily fit three people (perfect for recreating Challengers’ iconic ménage à trois kiss, perhaps).
When you visit Rome, you’re surrounded by history: crumbling stone and worn cobblestones are everywhere. But staying at Palazzo Talìa feels like inhabiting history itself, albeit with the welcome luxuries of high thread counts and room service. Like any newly opened hotel, Talìa has teething issues — non-working sockets here, a sauna that never quite reached temperature there — but these are details that can be easily ironed out.
As part of a growing problem with travel worldwide, Rome suffers from over-tourism. A few streets over at the Trevi Fountain — a two-minute stroll away — a sea of phone cameras obscures the marble facade, and queues for the Vatican seem never-ending. Palazzo Talìa offers a rare reprieve: a chance to slip away from the crowds and into anonymity, the sort usually reserved for true A-listers.
Experience the Palazzo Talìa yourself
In May and June, rates start from €400 per person, with buffet and served breakfast included; to book go to palazzotalia.com or info@palazzotalia.com
