Madeleine Jelstrupp
French touch and Dolce Vita: a weekend at the Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese
A city of all charms and superlatives, the Italian capital unveils an enchanting vision at every street corner, where all the periods of art, beauty and culture are interwoven in tangled strata. It would take more than a lifetime to discover all its mysteries. A symbol of luxury à la française, located in the district of palazzo-museums, palaces and embassies, the recently renovated Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese is an ideal base from which to discover the city in a different way.
French Touch and Dolce Vita
The view from the 7th floor of the Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese is breathtaking. You can see the mythical seven hills, emblematic monuments and little-known districts of eternal Rome. As a result, this flagship of the Sofitel group attracts foreign aesthetes and golden youth alike. A Dolce Vita à la française orchestrated by Jean-Philippe Nuel, starchitect and designer, a benchmark in the luxury hotel industry who has already converted several heritage buildings into historic 5-star hotels: the Palais de Justice in Nantes, the former Hotel Dieu in Marseille and Lyon, the Molitor swimming pool in Paris, a police station in Strasbourg...
Red and green mosaic and marble
In Rome, in a 19th-century palazzo facing the mythical Palazzo Aurora, the sumptuous Roman villa of the Princes Ludovisi Boncompagni, one of whose ceilings was decorated by Caravaggio, he has imagined a haven of calm that embraces the codes of French luxury, while creating an aesthetic Dolce Vita... Welcome to the Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese! Right from the lobby, with its red and green marble flooring inspired by typical Roman mosaics, Italian exuberance pervades the atmosphere. Even in the corridors, where details of antique statues contrast with red walls and black lacquered bedroom doors.
Renaissance-inspired frescoes and chic classicism in the rooms, designed by Jean Philippe Nuel
This profusion of color is quickly counterbalanced by the chic classicism of the rooms, conducive to serenity. Shrouded in a slightly icy aesthetic, but tempered by an elegantly stylized decorative softness, they feature designer furnishings in light tones, enhanced by a Renaissance-inspired fresco. "The Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese is a dialogue between French elegance, with its classic details, and Italian refinement and baroque, full of opulence and generosity. It's also a dialogue between heritage and modernity, white and bright colors, city and garden," confides Jean-Philippe Nuel. A successful exercise in style, which places the establishment in the hotel aristocracy of the Via Veneto district.
At Settimo, gastronomy takes to the skies
Set out on the top floor of the Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese, the restaurant boasts a 360-degree panorama, where aperitivo is a popular event, even with Romans, who never tire of admiring the view of the Villa Medici, so close by, and the city's half-patrician, half-popular geography... Planted, the Settimo offers, what's more, in spring or on summer evenings with its disappearing roof, total immersion in the starry sky. Chef Giuseppe d'Alessio offers an exclusive sensory experience, imagining a contemporary Roman cuisine where street food and classic Italian dishes dare to marry. Supplí, saltimbocca and pastas cacio e pepe gain in flavor and lightness.
Rediscover Grande Bellazza, off the beaten track
The concierge service at the Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese is in unison, inviting travelers to get off the beaten track. There's no denying the treasures and masterpieces, the secrets of the city's palaces, churches and courtyards. Make a wish at the Trevi Fountain, be touched by grace at the Sistine Chapel, relax on the terraces in Trastevere, hunt for bargains at the Porta Portese flea market and explore Testaccio, Garbatella and Ostiense in the south of the city. In these rehabilitated ex-workers' quarters, now trendy alter-arty spots, small houses with gardens built under Mussolini stand side by side with graffiti that make the urban landscape pop. The Centrale Montemartini, a museum of Roman antiquities housed in a former thermal power station, offers a superb visual and heritage perspective. Numerous trattorie are now accommodating new, experimental tables. Macro Future, a cultural hub set up in former industrial wasteland at the foot of a mound of amphorae that gives its name to the district (Testaccio)... offers a quirky, quasi-altermondialist experience.
Rome is definitely eternal.
Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese
Via Lombardia, 47 - 00187 Rome
Tel: +39 06 47 80 21.
