Intimate Rome between art and luxury

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

A historic palace transformed into a contemporary refuge, where art, design and hospitality combine with precision and sophistication

Rome displays its monumentality with historical force, however, in a discreet street between Piazza del Popolo and Via del Babuino, the city adopts a different tone, closer, modern and delicately measured. The First Roma Arte seduces without having to introduce itself, it does not compete with the Colosseum or with Bernini, it proposes an intimate dialogue between contemporary art, refined design and hospitality designed for those seeking details, sensitivity and coherence. This hotel not only houses, it receives; it does not decorate, it protects; It does not impress, it falls in love slowly and judiciously.

The palazzo, linked for decades to the Roman Jewish community, was restored with extreme sensitivity, respecting the original proportions while pure lines, noble materials and a high-level artistic selection are integrated naturally. The first impression refers to the house of a sophisticated collector, someone who observes, chooses and never displays too much. Each space breathes criteria, from the lobby to the hallways, from the suites to the corners where sculptures and objects appear as subtle and complicit winks.

The First Roma Arte belongs to Prime Group, founded by Danilo Primerano, a leader in Italian luxury hospitality. Since the late nineties, the group has developed a clear vision of hospitality, building buildings with identity, projects with soul and hotels that function as cultural manifestos. This hotel represents the most refined version of that philosophy, a five-star luxury that understands contemporaneity without betraying Roman memory. Each aesthetic decision responds to a coherent story, with art as the backbone, design as language and service as a constant, silent but omnipresent gesture.

Art, design and conscious hospitality

The twenty-six rooms and suites display a serene elegance, neutral palettes, deep marbles, lacquered woods and soft textiles that invite the touch. Works by contemporary Italian artists accompany the experience without imposing themselves, the generous beds with leather headboards ensure a deep rest after the urban rhythm, and the bathrooms covered in Emperador marble offer sensory rituals with Ortigia amenities, aromas that remain subtle in the memory. Each element is designed so that the guest moves naturally, always feeling part of the space.

Art is not limited to the walls, it is integrated into the entire experience. Many pieces are available for purchase, transforming the stay into an opportunity for discovery and collection. The hotel functions as a living gallery, with rotating exhibitions and a cultural manager who shares keys, contexts and routes, making luxury measured by access to beauty, knowledge and authenticity.

Gastronomy amplifies the experience, Acquolina, a restaurant with two Michelin stars, offers a contemporary reading of the Mediterranean, with precise technique, top quality ingredients and dishes that surprise without losing elegance. Each dinner is experienced as a measured staging, where flavor dialogues with aesthetics. Acquaroof offers a suspended, panoramic and cinematic Rome, with breakfasts bathed in golden light, cocktails at sunset and the Roman sky unfolding like an infinite fresco. The Rome Roy, a mixture of Scotch, orange soda and vermouth, becomes a liquid statement of personality.

The service accompanies with impeccable naturalness, multilingual hosts available twenty-four hours, personalized check-in even in the room, maggiordomo on demand, personal shopper, art advisor, private transfers and custom-designed experiences. From tours of the former Jewish ghetto to cooking classes with a Roman nonna, from treasure hunts in artisan workshops to advice on acquiring local art, each proposal adds layers to an experience that moves away from conventional tourism and towards a deep cultural experience.

The location enhances the experience, Campo Marzio displays its historical elegance, boutiques, galleries and cafes with character. A few steps away, Piazza di Spagna, Via del Corso, Villa Borghese, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. Rome is accessible, walkable and vibrant, when you cross the hotel door the noise is attenuated, the space becomes residential, intimate and secret.

The First Roma Arte does not seek to be a hotel for everyone, it is a refuge for those who conceive travel as personal expression, for those who value design with intention, art with discourse and luxury without ostentation. Published in Harper’s Bazaar, it speaks the language of fashion, style and global savoir-faire, Roman to the core and contemporary to the last detail.

In a city that constantly observes the past, this hotel allows itself something revolutionary, looking at the present with intelligence and the future with elegance, Rome reinterpreted through art, Rome lived through design, Rome finally inhabited.