Bulgari has announced the growth of its hotel franchise with a new opening in Rome, in a significant homecoming for the Rome-based Maison.
To tie in with the hotel’s anticipated 2022 opening, Bulgari has created the Ospitalità Italiana necklace, which snakes familiar design references throughout its white gold coils. The tubogas choker, succinctly uniting Bulgari’s rich jewellery history with its newer forays into the hotel industry, is studded with gems, each one symbolising one of the ten Bulgari hotels set to be open by 2023.
For brand president and CEO Jean-Christophe Babin, the gems on this one-of-a-kind piece are weighted in significance. ‘We chose an extraordinary purple diamond for Rome, a nod to the signature colour of the Roman Empire,’ he says. Other stones, too, are rich in historicity: ‘There is a yellow diamond for Milan, to celebrate the main tone of the Sforza coat of arms and a white diamond for Moscow, honouring the preferred gem of Russian imperial families. The design and the boldness of the Bulgari Maison is what led us to imagine such a peculiar jewel.’
It is a bold tribute to the symbolism inherent in the Roman hotel opening, which, once again, has Italian architectural firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Vie at the helm. The building, located in the central Piazza Augusto Imperatore, is steeped in heritage. Originally completed in 1938 and designed by architect Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo, it takes its cues from the necklace by interweaving historical threads throughout its design. Traditional Roman materials including Travertine marble and burnt red brick – as well as Antonio Barrera’s beautiful frescos – soften its striking rationalist architecture.
INFORMATION
-
What to see at Milan Design Week 2025We bring you a running guide to some of the events the Wallpaper* team is looking forward to at Milan Design Week (7–13 April) – from public installations and major launches to standout venues and must-see exhibitions. Stay tuned for updates...
-
Inside Loro Piana’s extraordinary first exhibition in Shanghai, celebrating a century of craftScarlett Conlon travels to Shanghai to explore ‘If You Know, You Know: Loro Piana’s Quest for Excellence’, a showstopping new exhibition from the Italian fashion house curated by Judith Clark, spanning clothing, heirloom fabric, art and local craft
-
The forming of a new American dream: on site at Desert XWill Jennings reports from the epic art festival in the Coachella Valley
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Romeo Roma: a new hotel that’s one of Zaha Hadid’s last projectsLocated within Rome’s Tridente, Romeo Roma is a palimpsest of periods in which the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid left her avant-garde mark
-
Five influential women hoteliers reflect on the changing face of hospitalityAs women continue to gain ground in the hotel sector, despite still being underrepresented in senior positions, five female moguls share their experiences of the past and projections for the future
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy designThere’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
-
The best Milan bars for a fashionable aperitivoMilan’s after-dark renaissance is evident in a new wave of design-led cocktail bars, setting the right mood for enticing aperitivos and nightcaps; Milan editor Laura May Todd recommends the best
-
How Four Seasons Hotels became The White Lotus’ unofficial starAs The White Lotus season three whisks us to Thailand, Marc Speichert, chief commercial officer of Four Seasons Hotels, discusses the luxury group’s perfect synergy with the hit HBO series – and where you can live the experience
-
Night at the museum: the best art hotels to book nowSleep amid surrealists at London’s Broadwick Soho, or wake up to contemporary favourites at New Hotel in Athens – indulge in an immersive art hotel experience
-
A next-generation Milanese members’ club wins Wallpaper* Design Award 2025The Wilde wins our Best Social Hub award for its embodiment of the cosmopolitan Milanese spirit
-
Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025: meet the travel winners transcending destinationsDiscover the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025 travel winners – the year’s places to stay, dine, drink and join – and watch our video to find out why they won
