The palace that links the centuries

By Flavia Tomaello, https://flaviatomaello.blog/, Instagram @flavia.tomaello

The Piazza della Repubblica opens like a circle containing a multitude of overlapping times. Its curved line seems to summon a movement that never stops, a coming and going that links eras with a fluidity that disorients and seduces. In that setting where the city unfolds with an innate theatricality, stands a building that has learned to coexist with the centuries without losing its essence. Its façade embraces the Naiades fountain with an elegance that seems suspended in a perpetual instant, while its interior reveals a history that goes far beyond its nineteenth-century architecture.

The palace that today houses the Anantara Palazzo Naiadi was conceived in 1887 by Gaetano Koch, who imagined two twin constructions intended to define the geometry of the square. Its neoclassical style, with columns that evoke the solemnity of the great European buildings, was erected on land that already held a monumental memory. Under its foundations lie the remains of the Baths of Diocletian, built between 298 and 306 by the emperor Maximian as a gift to his co-emperor. That thermal complex, capable of receiving thousands of people, functioned for more than two centuries as a self-sufficient universe that included spaces for art, reading, gymnastics, conversation and rest. In the 16th century, Michelangelo intervened in these ruins to create the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, which still dominates the skyline of the square today.

The building that Koch envisioned became a hotel only in the early years of the 21st century, when Maurizio Papiri and Adam D. Tihany reinterpreted its interiors to transform it into a space of contemporary hospitality. The structure also incorporated an 18th-century wing, the Clementine Granary, built in 1705 by order of Pope Clement XI. This overlapping of eras turned the building into a complex organism, where baroque utility coexists with nineteenth-century monumentality and the imperial footprint that lies beneath the ground.

The arrival of the Anantara brand marked a new chapter. The hotel was renamed Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Rome Hotel, joining the Minor Hotels portfolio and becoming the brand’s gateway to Italy. Recent renovations refined the common spaces, enhanced the terrace and consolidated the building’s identity as a meeting point between history, design and sensory experience.

A territory where each era finds its channel

The visitor who walks through the marble lobby immediately perceives that this place transcends the traditional idea of ​​accommodation. The atmosphere is reminiscent of an inhabited museum, a space where each surface tells a story. Beneath the floor, visible through glass panels, fragments of the Baths of Diocletian unfold, as if the past refused to remain hidden. Above the head, the classic proportions of the 19th century are softened with contemporary materials that provide lightness without altering the solemnity of the whole.

The 232 rooms and suites maintain that duality. They preserve the majestic scale of the original architecture, although they incorporate modern elements that dialogue with frescoes, moldings and windows that frame the city. Some suites are spread over two levels, others open to views that capture the Fountain of the Naiades or the Michelangelo-designed basilica. The presidential suite pays tribute to Sophia Loren, who considers this hotel her favorite in the city. This bond with the Italian actress adds a cinematic nuance to the experience, as if each stay invited you to play a different role.

The hotel also houses a business center partially suspended above the archaeological remains, an architectural gesture that turns work into an act of historical contemplation. The terrace, with its panoramic pool, offers a perspective that combines urban monumentality with the contemporary vibration of the environment. From there, Piazza della Repubblica unfolds like a stage where past and present intertwine effortlessly.

The Ineo restaurant, directed by chef Heros de Agostinis and recognized by the MICHELIN Guide, represents the most current expression of the hotel. Its gastronomic proposal combines technique, memory and audacity. The menu, conceived as a journey through the chef’s global sensibility, balances clean flavors with a culinary narrative that pays homage to Italian tradition without falling into nostalgia. The dining room, with Limoges porcelain and Christofle cutlery, is presented as a small theater where each dish is a carefully choreographed scene.

The hotel also offers a ritual inspired by the ancient imperial baths. The Diocletian Bath treatment recreates the experience of those who spent entire days in the facilities built by Maximian. The body is covered with Mediterranean mud, massaged with olive oil, bay leaf, lavender, honey and sea salt. The sensation is that of entering a suspended time, a time that connects the present with the well-being rituals of seventeen hundred years ago.

The most recent interventions include the work of Studio Marco Piva on three suites located on the upper floors. Their approach was to respect the monumentality of the building, creating interiors that appear to float within the original structure. The intention was to preserve the architectural unity without giving up a contemporary reading of luxury.

The hotel has also become the setting for events celebrating Italian excellence. In April, the Anantara Concorso Roma will take place, a meeting dedicated to automotive design that will bring together more than fifty classic vehicles from brands such as Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lancia, Lamborghini and Maserati. Guests will be able to access VIP tickets and exclusive experiences that combine the passion for motors with the elegance of the environment.

The hotel’s location offers an obvious advantage. The Termini station is just a few steps away, the metro runs under the square, the most emblematic museums and monuments are within reach of a leisurely walk. The visitor can cross the colonnade and immerse himself in the Diocletian Baths museum, return for a meeting, leave again to explore the city. This fluidity turns the hotel into a point of balance between urban intensity and interior serenity.

The Anantara Palazzo Naiadi stands out in a landscape where many luxury hotels tend to look alike. Its specificity lies in the way it integrates the layers of the city, in the way it allows each era to retain its voice. The floor you step on, the walls that surround the bed, the view that opens from the window, everything participates in a story that unfolds effortlessly. The experience becomes a dialogue between times, a dialogue that invites us to understand the city from the inside.

Whoever stays here discovers that the Italian capital is not just a destination, but a succession of presences that coexist in the same space. The hotel offers a refuge where this coexistence becomes legible, where the city is shown without fanfare, where luxury is defined as the ability to inhabit history without losing the intimacy of the present. The visitor leaves with the feeling of having slept inside a story, a story that continues even after closing the door.