Baroque spirit

FACING PIAZZA NAVONA, THE APARTMENT OF DONNA OLIMPIA AT PALAZZO PAMPHILJ BECOMES AN EXCLUSIVE CITY LODGE FULL OF THE FINEST ITALIAN CRAFTSMANSHIP. Pope Innocent X never looked out from the balcony of Palazzo Pamphilj, though everyone in Rome knew he was there to meet with donna Olimpia Pamphilj, his advisor, sister-in-law and – above all – lover. He did often peek out the window to look at the Fountain of Four Rivers designed for him by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, like the whole setting of Piazza Navona. For the palace he called on Francesco Borromini, who came up with a spiral ramp in place of the formal staircase. Francesco Allegrini was commissioned to make the frescos. The alcove was done with the contribution of the greatest artists of the Italian Baroque. When Giorgia and Stefano Barbini entered the papal apartment of Palazzo Pamphilj for the first time – after it had been abandoned for years – they immediately realized they could create a new project there for San Lorenzo Lodges, the family collection of miniature 5-star hotels, each available for full-facility reservation. Now there are three of them: the White Deer, a 4-room structure in Val Pusteria; the Blue Deer, a catamaran sailing the coasts of Italy; and the very new Holy Deer San Lorenzo City Lodge in Rome. Great effort and patience were required to regenerate the place, in keeping with the dictates of the local heritage authorities. Work began in October 2017, with the team of the studio FM Architettura d’Interni (Francesca Muzio and Maria Silvia Orlandini), specializing in superyachts. The owners, hailing from the world of high fashion, had very clear ideas: Giorgia, granddaughter of Gaetano Savini, founder of Brioni, was the owner of the Escada store in Rome, while Stefano was Ceo of the German maison in Italy and France. For the renovation they opted for absolute Made in Italy, and total customization of the residence with an area of 350 square meters. «With this project we become ambassadors of Italian excellence and craftsmanship», Stefano proudly explains as he illustrates the exceptional skills required for the closet space alone: the doors are in cashmere with red cowhide stitching, while the inner surfaces are in necktie silk, matching the retro style of the Dedar fabrics draped around the windows facing Via dell’Anima. The leather coathangers are by Toscanini, the workshop in Borgosesia, and the mannequins by the famous Bonaveri are personalized in red and blue velvet. The closet connects the studio and music room to the smaller bedroom, with frescoed ceilings, a 19th-century fireplace and a tree with white ceramic flowers by Alice Riehl on the wall. The other wing is accessed through a corridor-library, where theatrical lighting and an antique fireplace transform the passage into a place to linger, though across the threshold there are more comfortable sofas and armchairs, a self-service bar with fine wines, and a dining room where a contemporary look forms a contrast with a Berkel slicer from 1918, a Murano glass chandelier from the 1970s designed by Archimede Seguso, and a late 18th-century table inlaid with 34 different types of marble.