Bulgari Hotel Roma opens today

Today, 9th June 2023, the Bulgari Hotel Roma opens. It is the second hotel in Italy and seventh where the where the gastronomic offer is signed by Niko Romito

Located at number 10 in the very central Piazza Augusto Imperatore, in the Campo Marzio area, a stone’s throw from Via del Corso, the Piazza di Spagna and also the historic Bulgari store on Via Condotti, the hotel is a unique entity in the Maison’s history, because of Bulgari’s unbreakable bond with the city where it was founded nearly 140 years ago, and also the opportunity it provides to express the spirit of the city, describing it with a contemporary twist. The Bulgari Hotel Roma is a celebration of the most refined qualities of Rome, reaching beyond clichés, and is a showcase for the best Italian design and craftsmanship. 

The imposing building that houses the hotel is a splendid example of rationalist architecture: designed by the architect Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo and built between 1936 and 1938, it was officially opened in 1950 by the Italian prime minister Alcide De Gasperi as the headquarters of the INPS, the Italian Social Security Agency. It is in a historic location, with strong symbolic value: it faces the Mausoleum of Augustus, the circular 1^st century tomb, and the Ara Pacis, the altar which celebrates the period of peace that the emperor managed to impose – the Pax Romana – and which is now preserved within the Ara Pacis Museum designed by Richard Meier.

The close connection between the Bulgari Hotel Roma and the vision and the historical times of Emperor Augustus is underlined by second-century AD statue of Augustus Seated in original pentelic marble, from the exclusive Torlonia Collection. Placed in the centre of the foyer, this statue is the first in a series of five whose restoration Bulgari sponsored and that will be rotated on display.

The Bulgari Hotel Roma offers five different types of catering, all curated by Chef Niko Romito, whose collaboration with Bulgari Hotels & Resorts started in 2017. The executive chef of the hotel is Claudio Catino, who for many years headed the kitchen at the Bulgari Hotel Milano.

ll Caffè, with its spacious outdoor area beneath the monumental porticos of Piazza Augusto Imperatore, is the first of its kind in Italy and the first created by Niko Romito. It was conceived as an Italian bar offering food: elegant and informal, with a varied and versatile menu, it can become a point of reference for the local area and the entire city. The chef of Il Caffè is Salvatore Brancaccio, former sous-chef at Bulgari Hotel Parigi, mentre in pasticceria c’è chef Pier Simone Guarino.

The menu was designed by Niko Romito to deliver an authentic experience from breakfast to dinner, and to pay tribute to the iconic dishes from the cuisine of the city of Rome and the Lazio area, through extensive research into the quality of ingredients, sourced from the best suppliers in the region.

With its magnificent view onto Piazza Augusto Imperatore thanks to its location on the fifth floor, Il Ristorante – Niko Romito presents a menu of contemporary Italian cuisine, created exclusively for Bulgari Hotels & Resorts by the chef, in a warm and elegant atmosphere. The restaurant opens onto a large outside terrace, with a view of the historic Mausoleum of the Emperor Augustus and of the Ara Pacis. The most emblematic traditional recipes have been re-written to emphasize their essential nature, purity and lightness, the canons of Niko Romito’s work, and then entrusted to the hands and talent of Emilio Di Cristo, who was sous-chef of the Bulgari Resort Dubai for four years.

On the same floor, the Bulgari Bar is the perfect place to socialise while sipping iconic cocktails. It features a large black marble bar decorated with cones in Murano glass that reflect the light, while outside there is a large lounge terrace with its own bar area. To accompany the cocktails created by the head barlady Desirée Verdecchia, Niko Romito conceived an informal menu with a series of bar bites and light dishes that are suitable for every moment of the day.

In La Terrazza the Bulgari Hotel Roma has something that is unique: with its extraordinary rooftop position, with cabanas and lounge areas, it boasts breathtaking views of the city skyline. The landscaping of La Terrazza, which was designed by P’Arcnouveau, is that of a typical Roman terrace, with over 200 pots holding a very wide range of plants and native flowers; it is reminiscent of the ancient Roman residences such as the Villa of Livia and Hadrian’s Villa.

Looking onto Via delle Frezza, the first Bulgari Dolci boutique in Italy delivers a luxury experience composed of delicious sweets, such as Bulgari’s celebrated “chocolate gems” and a selection of traditional Italian pastries from the La Pasticceria – Niko Romito menu.

Alongside the entrance foyer, with a view onto Piazza Augusto Imperatore, the Lobby Lounge is reserved for hotel guests throughout the day. It provides a refined and exclusive atmosphere, with a menu that ranges from afternoon tea to aperitif.

“This project has an enormous potential, both from an international and also a local viewpoint, in which we can enjoy the significant experience that has been acquired over the past few years in the other restaurants of the collection. Through the five different kinds of dining and refreshments that we offer, we wish to transmit Italian values and identity, and produce authentic cuisine which reworks the great traditional classics in a contemporary key.”