Known for the atmospheric backdrops in films such as Call me by your name And Breathlessness, Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino also creates interiors that everyone can experience firsthand – and not just on screen. His interior design firm studiolucaguadagnino, founded in 2017, has just opened its first hotel – and it’s a clever study in how historic architecture and contemporary design can merge. Palazzo Talìa, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, is located in the 16th-century building that once housed the Collegio Nazareno, a school whose classrooms educated scholars, nobles and popes.
“This opportunity was exciting because it gave us the opportunity to combine all the skills, expertise and experience of our studio in just one project,” says Pablo Molezún, the company’s project manager. ADVERTISEMENT, He explained that the hotel team had fully embraced the studio’s three main pillars: color, geometry and craftsmanship.
The first thing you notice when entering the historic hall is how colour brings the space to life. You can feel it under your feet as you glide across the monumental carpet designed by Nigel Peake for Studiolucaguadagnino. It features floral motifs with geometric treatment in soft pinks and yellows contrasting with deep blues and burgundy – colours inspired by the original frescoes in the bar and the Magna Hall upstairs, which makes a grand impression with its 11-metre-high ceiling, checkered floor and ancient Roman busts lined up on the walls. Much of the building is a listed building, so architectural details such as the frescoes, cornices and frames had to be restored with the appropriate tones. “We studied the original colours in detail and translated them into contemporary handmade carpets with new graphic patterns,” explains Molezún.
As you walk through the public areas, you’ll notice the tactile quality of the materials used. In the bar, for example, the studio commissioned a Sicilian ceramicist to create the bar and tabletops with a slightly undulating texture. In the wellness area, green majolica tiles were sourced from Spanish artisans. The courtyard garden is planted with huge palm trees and other plants that give the space the feeling of a cross between a Mediterranean and a tropical oasis, created in collaboration with landscape artist Blu Mambor.
