Discover Italy’s Destination Hotels For Contemporary Art Lovers
As much as I love traveling for art, sometimes the best art experience just happens to be where I am staying. Enter a trio of Italian hotels that feel like private galleries and immersive contemporary art experiences. Welcome to the ultimate art lover's escape perfect for an art escape and where you'll want to wind down after the Biennale and Salone del Mobile craze.
Casa Maria LuigiaIf you follow my Instagram, you know that every year I make a pilgrimage to Casa Maria Luigia, the exquisite 12-room bed and breakfast created by chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore in the Modena countryside. You could call it a habit, but there's a reason I keep coming back, and it's not just what you'd expect. Casa Maria Luigia is, hands down, a gastronomic paradise and foodie destination. Bottura's visionary culinary mastery is on full display, from Francescana at Casa Maria Luigia's "greatest hits" of his three-Michelin-star Osteria Francescana to the innovative Al Gatto Verde, where Michelin-starred cuisine merges with green-star sustainability, under the guidance of Jess Rosval. Her breakfast is probably the most delicious in Italy- both a tribute and flair on the very best that Modena offers. But what truly keeps me returning year after year is the art.
For more than three decades, Gilmore and Bottura have been collecting works by artists from all over the world. And it's important to note that they don't just love art; they live it. It's all over their home, and this philosophy weaves through every corner of Casa Maria Luigia, from the bedrooms and communal spaces to the kitchen, library, garden, and even the acetaia (balsamic vinegar production and storage area). Every inch is a subtle, immersive art experience.
You'll find yourself lounging in the living room under frescoed ceilings, and surrounded by works from Ai Weiwei, Tracey Emin, Mimmo Paladino, and Vanessa Beecroft, or enjoying some me time in the your suite where pieces by Mike Kelley, David Salle, Marcel Dzama and more hang. (It's worth mentioning that the rooms are lined with some of Gucci's most beautiful wallpaper).
Outside, the grounds have statues and installations. A Joseph Beuys-inspired banner hovers over the tennis court. The pool is a dive into op-art brilliance, and Olafur Eliasson's Eye See You casts a glow over the acetaia, alongside works by Pe Lang, Davide Groppi, and Joan Crous. Even the newest dining addition, Al Gatto Verde, took inspiration from a Mike Bidlo piece, Not Pollock, sparking the transformation of the carriage house into a "not-barbecue" restaurant where a Tuscan grill and a MAM oven are front and center. CML also has the beautiful style three-bedroom Luigina, a free-standing apartment on the edge of the property, and soon to come more rooms at the near by guest host with more art to come.
My favorite spot? The gym—a former warehouse now a hybrid art gallery, garage, and workout haven. Bottura's Ducati and Maserati are parked alongside Technogym equipment, all under a lineup of paintings by Joseph Beuys, David Salle, Damien Hirst, and more. Never have I wanted to sweat more.
Palazzo LuceIf there was every a town the felt like a fairy, it's Lecce. This Baroque fantasy come to life is a southern Italian dreamscape of spiraling columns, and ornate facades. But recently I discovered that nestled within this historic cityscape is an oasis of contemporary art and design.
Everyone gets caught up in the ornament of Lecce's Duomo but I could hang out at Palazzo Luce for hours. This meticulously restored 17th-century townhouse once housed Queen Maria d'Enghien, but has been beautifully restored into owner Anna Maria Enselmi's labyrinthine universe of art where site-specific installations and work by luminaries like Andrea Bowers, William Kentridge, Joseph Kosuth, Marina Abramović and Vanessa Beecroft grace the hallways, stairwells, grand ballrooms, libraries, terraces and rooms.
It sounds like a lot but Palazzo Luce's art collection actually subtly sneaks up on you. Enselmi's originally plans were to house her collection of mid-century Italian design pieces, which is neck deep in Gio Ponti, but expanded to contemporary art when architect Giuliano Andrea Dell'Uva introduced her to gallerist Lia Rumma. The result is a seven-room townhouse with site specific installations.
Each guestroom embodies its own distinct aesthetic. The Maria d'Enghien Suite is crowned with a ceiling fresco by British artist David Tremlett, while the more abstract Fanciullino has a monumental work by Mimmo Jodice. Rosso Ponti and Blue Ponti are the dedicatd to the Italian genius with original Gio Ponti furnishings, and luxe contemporary details that harmonious interplay between history and modernity. Italian designer Martino Camper designed a bar which leads into a monumental music room featuring a wall-to-wall carpet by Kosuth. The 300 square meter panoramic terrace not only overlooks the city but is the stage for performances.
Palazzo Avino (Ravello, Campania)For a slightly different take on art immersion, I love escaping to Palazzo Avino. Perched 1,150 feet above the shimmering Tyrrhenian Sea, Palazzo Avino—Ravello's famed "Pink Palace"—is a striking presence on the Amalfi Coast. Its peaked arched windows and soft, peach-hued exterior create a charming contrast against the lush Monte Lattari backdrop. It may have a 12th-century pedigree in its architecture but by the 20th century this palazzo evolved into an iconic hotel, luring celebrities like D.H. Lawrence, Humphrey Bogart, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Roberto Rossellini, and Ingrid Bergman to its enchanting heights. In 1995, Giuseppe Avino acquired and revitalized the 53-room property, bringing new life to the medieval landmark while raising his daughters Mariella, Attilia, and MariaVittoria—now the guiding forces behind Palazzo Avino's heritage and vision.
The Avino sisters have intertwined their commitment to heritage with a distinct passion for contemporary art and design. Each season, Palazzo Avino hosts an art exhibition at its Caffé dell'Arte. In 2024, the "Palazzo to Palazzo" show, curated by Umberta Beretta in collaboration with the artist-in-residence program Palazzo Monti, cast a spotlight on female perspectives, bringing in work by emerging artists from Europe, the UK, the U.S., Latin America, and Asia, who explored themes from the sacred nature of the female body to the beauty of the natural world and themes of gender and racial inclusivity.
And quietly, contemporary is infusing itself into the Pink Palace's aesthetic. Mariella designed the ceramic flatware for the restaurants - elliptical dishes with abstract designs like pink polkadots nd pink and green stripes. Additionally, in 2023, the sisters unveiled the Infinito Suite—a 100-square-meter, two-level oasis conceived by Dell'Uva, who used upcycled, site-found materials like 19th-century tiles to accentuate its unique character and styled with mid-century pieces by Gabriella Crespi, Hans-Agne Jakobsson, and Ignazio Gardella. Tremlett also seems to be the artists of choice amongst hoteliers. The Infinto Suite's terrace is tiled in a mesmerizing, hand-painted turquoise and white pattern by Tremlett that echoes the colors of the Tyrrhenian Sea on the terrace.
