Luxury Rome hospitality

In his Italian Journey of 1817, Johann Wolfgang Goethe referred to the city as the «capital of the world», while the French writer Stendhal wrote in 1828 that «one may sometimes become bored during the second month of one’s stay but never in the sixth, and if one stays until the twelfth one begins to think of settling here». The city in question is of course Rome, the Eternal City, which during its thousands of years of history was the nerve centre of one of the most important ancient civilisations. Today it is the city with the highest concentration of historic architecture in the world, including the largest number of churches and fountains, temples and obelisks, forty triumphal arches, twelve basilicas and two amphitheatres, a heritage that has made it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The tourism sector has an important impact on its social fabric, providing employment for around 120,000 people, either directly or indirectly. But to cater for an increasingly demanding clientele, the sector must now focus not just on increasing the numbers of new facilities but also on modernising existing ones, pursuing the goal of «total quality» in order to meet customer demands while protecting the environment. An example of this approach is the large-scale remodelling work performed between 2009 and 2010 on the Royal Santina Hotel in Rome, one of the Roscioli Group’s prestigious four-star hotels located in a modern building close to the Termini railway station. The renovation project, awarded to architects Fabrizio D’Amico and Emanuele Cordelli (the latter responsible for designing and supervising the furnishings), has created a linear, modern building characterised by large, bright spaces. The corridors exhibit contrasting colours and forms between the two facing walls, a solution that not only alters the spatial perception but also introduces outstanding aesthetic qualities. While one wall is linear and white, the other is clad with dark Kerlite Over Road laminar porcelain sheets produced by Cotto d’Este, whose 5-metre radius of curvature allows them to follow the gently sinuous curve of the walls. The 118 guest rooms, including junior suites, feature softer architectural lines and are designed with a view to comfort and elegant practicality. All interiors have been designed to maximize brightness through the use of eight light points, pale colours, large windows and glass panels backlit with dynamic LEDs of changing colours. The bathrooms feature a sophisticated choice of materials. Alongside the prestigious stone bath and washbasin tops, the floor and wall coverings consist of Kerlite sheets, a hi-tech material with outstanding aesthetic qualities that has helped to add value to the entire structure. The versions chosen for the wall coverings are the pale and delicate Snow colour from the Colors collection and Amande from the Buxy collection, while the amber brown Via Farini from the Elegance series lends warm, seductive tones to the floors.