Grand opening of the historical Stadt Hotel Città
Located in the oldest part of Bolzano’s historical centre in Italy, Stadt Hotel Città is reopening this week following a full refurbishment. Podini S.p.A. and Birra FORST, the new owners of the Stadt Hotel Città, appreciate the charm of the building. Aware of its historical significance for the city and its inhabitants, they have decided to bring the venerated grande dame of Piazza Walther back to life.
Since its establishment in 1913, Stadt Hotel Città has been a reference point for Bolzano’s social circles, which have always chosen to meet under its luminous vaults, overlooking the central Piazza Walther. The guests and businesspeople who have lodged in its rooms have always appreciated that feeling of being immediately involved in city life, and thus becoming an active part of it – but from a privileged vantage point.
The concept that Studio Bizzarro & Partners created for the hotel’s functional redevelopment was intended to revitalise and amplify this role, bringing Stadt Hotel Città back to the beating heart of city life.
The project completely revamped the hotel from a functional point of view, especially on the ground floor, where the current café/restaurant has been redefined conceptually, converting the entire floor into a series of restaurant activities that are fully open to the external surrounding, in keeping with the most progressive and contemporary trends of city hotels. As a result, this first floor no longer has the connotation of a structure at the exclusive service of the hotel guests, but instead offers diversified food and beverage services to the entire city.
Stadt Hotel Città, with its stylish rose-coloured facade and monumental neo-baroque architecture, dominates the square, together with Walther’s statue and the magnificent Gothic cathedral tower, the Duomo.
International flair, a retro style reinterpreted with a modern twist, and a touch of the Belle Époque all serve to bring the hotel’s elegance and beauty surging back to life. A new brasserie that is open to the public, the stylish Elliptical Hall and a café with Viennese flair are highlights of the new Stadt Hotel Città. And Cellina von Mannstein and Giovanni Podini will be there to steer things, discretely and expertly, from behind the scenes.
The subtle antique pink of the neo-baroque facade defines the aesthetic concept of Stadt Hotel Città. The building, with its clean, incisive lines, faces Walther Square through narrow parapets and a lovely portico. Its style is characteristic of that intelligent, turn-of-the- century urban architecture ubiquitous at the southern edges of the Habsburg Empire. It’s a style that embraces guests of the hotel and the café alike, making them feel like they are spectators and at the same time protagonists of the city centre’s vibrancy.
The cursive writing on the luminous sign that adorns the façade recalls the allure of the post-war period, an era punctuated by parties and lavish balls at Stadt Hotel Città at a time when people returned home in the early hours of the morning, crossing the empty square on foot.
This unique atmosphere appears to have emerged over the course of Cellina von Mannstein and Giovanni Podini’s discussions with the architects about the project. As a result, Studio Bizzarro of Ravenna created a brand-new space in accordance with the very precise indications of its two clients: a space with an exclusive flair, designed to satisfy a discerning clientele that appreciates privacy. Fully renovated in fresh and bright colours, the hotel’s rooms and suites offer all the creature comforts of Hospitality with a capital “H”.
Turquoise, green and blue, together with their many nuances, are the common thread running through the various areas of the hotel, characterised by a note of unusual and timeless elegance that is relaxing and regenerating for the eye and for the spirit. The harmonious combination of fine fabrics, soft forms and a forest of lush plants speaks to a fortuitous synergy between the aesthetic concepts of the two patrons: masculine and feminine elements complement each other in a surprising and harmonious way.
Cellina and Giovanni wanted to create a brand-new brasserie on the Via Argentieri side of the hotel. Out of a shared passion for elegant interiors, the pleasures of fine dining, quality wine and specialty beers, an environment has taken shape that offers an urban and sophisticated charm – a place to sit, eat and drink as in a traditional trattoria, equally ideal for a candlelight dinner or business lunch.
The functional subdivision of the ground floor has resulted in the creation of a charmingly designed bar/cafe, overlooking the arcade of Piazza Walther, which is intended as an iconic meeting point in Bolzano for visitors and locals alike; a pastry shop with gelateria, overlooking Via della Mostra, the city’s reference point for foodies and gourmets; and a restaurant/brasserie with an independent back entrance on Via Argentieri, which over the years has become the city’s go-to address for restaurants.
The point of exchange and fusion of these activities has been and remains the intriguing central Elliptical Hall, which serves almost as the epicentre of the floor. Here sunlight rains down from above through a transparent glass ceiling, giving form to a triumph of cascading plants; amidst sofas and tables with a Central European feel, it’s lovely to sip tea surrounded by a greenhouse.
On the upper floors, the existing 95 rooms have been reduced to 91 in order to consolidate them as necessary. The look of the rooms is urban, soothing and retro, yet still up to date with the new standards of comfort and services required by a discerning clientele.
The bathrooms have been completely redone, using black-and-white rectangular tiles with diamond edges typical of the 1930s; the oversized mirrors and large, well-equipped showers are evocative of our ongoing, modern-day quest for relaxation and wellbeing.
The lower floor features a wellness area with gym, treatment rooms and spa, with sauna and Turkish bath, connected to an evocative pool immersed in the blue of a starry sky: enrapturing and inspiring.
Sergio Bizzarro is an architect and the founder of Studio Bizzarro & Partners in Ravenna. He has acquired extensive, specialised experience in the design of prestigious hotels, for which he curates the architecture and interior design with painstaking care and finesse. Sergio Bizzarro has in-depth knowledge about the design and construction of hotels and wellness centeres and is considered to be one of the leading international references in the field. The aesthetic of his projects always evinces a signature elegance and style, which combines emotional impact, design and fantasy with a recognised ability to facilitate the guest enjoying a memorable experience of well-being and fulfilment in each moment of the stay.