A night in a palazzo decorated like the Vatican
Live like a principessa in a wing of the Borghese Palace in Rome. Lisa Grainger checks in
I’ve never eaten a meal among a host of gilded cherubs before. Or lain on a lobby floor to admire a ceiling. Or sipped tea beside a nymphaeum. That I was able to do all three in Palazzo Vilòn is because, as its name implies, this isn’t any old hotel. It’s a 10,000 sq ft private apartment in the Borghese family’s Roman palazzo. And if you pay enough to the adjoining Hotel Vilòn to take over the palazzo’s three-bedroom, gilt-vaulted living spaces, you can feast your eyes on a 17th-century painted ceiling while lying on a marble floor, or wander in a silk gown among sculpted naked nymphs, or scoff fresh shrimp tortellini under the gaze of angels and no one will blink an eye. Because for a night, it’s all yours.
Palazzo Borghese, bought in the early 17th century by the Italian cardinal who became Pope Paul V, is still one of Rome’s most opulent homes. It’s from here that much of the art in the Borghese Gallery comes. And it’s in this grand harpsichord-shaped block by the Tiber that the Borghese family still reside — along with the Spanish Embassy, a members’ club, an art museum and Pietro Valsecchi, a wealthy film producer.
When, six years ago, Valsecchi bought the only apartment in the building not owned by the Borgheses, its condition was, he writes in a book documenting its history, “truly disastrous, with shattered floors, deteriorating frescoes, and splintered frames and mirrors”. The interiors created by the renowned set painter Giovanni Grimaldi (who was also responsible for the Palais du Louvre) were still visible and the intricate, multicolour marble floors intact. But little had been done to the space for centuries. If Valsecchi was to make it liveable, he needed permission from authorities to install modern plumbing and technology. He needed the help of dozens of specialised artisans to retouch every inch. And he needed millions of euros for its restoration – and a way of repaying the cash.
Step forward Hotel Vilòn, just across the private gardens in the palazzo’s courtyard. The intimate 17-room hotel, which opened in 2018, had already attracted guests such as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and its chef, Gabriele Muro, turned its restaurant into a foodie hotspot. By adding the palazzo to its stock, the hotel suddenly had access to the most glamorous suite in Rome. And by allowing in guests, Valsecchi could generate the funds to justify the restoration of what must be one of the most dazzling private interiors on earth.
It would be a hard-hearted person who walked into the Mirror Gallery — as the dining room was originally called — and didn’t gasp. When the room was created, between 1674 and 1676, to try to rival the majesty of the equally rich Colonna family palace, no expense was spared. Every leading artistic talent available was employed to create the most exquisite private space in Rome. Rather than cladding the walls with plaster, Grimaldi erected giant mirrors that he painted with flowers and cherubs. Doors were crafted from solid walnut and ceilings painted with saints. And for just below the ceiling, amid a web of glittering gilt and elegant white stucco, he commissioned some of Rome’s finest sculptors to carve statues of 12 Roman emperors, interspersed with female sculptures representing the Eight Virtues. Looking up from the marble floors into the glitter of gilt and the sky of angels is a bit like being in the Sistine Chapel, except you have it to yourself.
Advertisement
Cleverly, rather than filling the already busy interiors with fussy furniture, the owner of the Hotel Vilòn contracted the Milanese architect Giampiero Panepinto to modernise the spaces with clean-lined contemporary Italian pieces and strong paint colours. Which is why the walls of the (unfrescoed) main living room are now painted a glorious emerald, emphasised by the gem-like glow of papal red and purple velvet sofas. The bathrooms have marble linings and the three bedrooms discreet switches, speakers and even televisions (a shame, the jovial general manager Claudio Ceccherelli admits, but some guests would rather watch sport than admire angels). And beneath all of this over-the-top rococo glory lies a floor devoted to more bacchanalian pursuits: a wine cellar, a Roman-inspired plunge pool, steam room and gym, and a thick-walled disco-cum-cinema room so guests can party their togas off without annoying the Borghese neighbours.
Or they can, as I did, put themselves in the shoes of Napoleon’s sister, Pauline Borghese, who once lived here. For one heavenly day, I feasted on delicious fare, listened to classical music wafting about the ancient walls and sat in the private courtyard surrounded by statues and swooping swallows, with every sense replete.
Three-bedroom palazzo, from €25,000 a night, B&B, palazzovilon.com
