Art Hotel, the new frontier of cultural tourism

Have you ever slept in an Art Hotel? These hotels, often situated in evocative location, offer to their guests the possibility to enjoy site-specific artworks, art installations and cultural events. Art Hotels, Design Hotels and Vintage Hotels are constantly developing and their uniqueness became a business full of opportunities for both hoteliers and artists.

 

To stimulate your curiosity and to introduce you to the world of receptive cultural tourism, we will today talk about three Italian Art Hotels. The story of these hotels is interlaced with the passion of their owners, Antonio Presti, Dino Facchini and Alessandro Cesa, for art: they were able to turn their love into a new and original job. In these lodgings guests can enjoy a full hotel service while being surrounded by artworks and wonderful architecture, while at the same time having the chance to buy artworks or become part of it. The main goal, therefore, is not so different from galleries' and museum's mission, i.e. to preserve and make art available to the public, but here is done in a rather informal way.

 

 

"Conceived as a permanent exhibition of contemporary art, the hotel houses works by internationally renowned artists. The careful restoration of architecture and painting, the collaboration with the Italian worldwide famous architect and designer Alessandro Mendini and the scrupulous choice of interior furnishings and works of art, have transformed this Venetian villa into a real museum of contemporary art and design." This is what you can read in the press release of the Byblos Art Hotel, created at Villa Amistà a few kilometers from Verona centercity.

 

In a pleasant interview, Dino Facchini, the hotel's owner, told us that he has been a passionate collector of art for more than fifty years and that the Byblos Art Hotel is the result of his passion. Villa Amistà is a Venetian villa built in the 16th century by the Veronese architect Michele San Micheli, known for having worked to many of Piazza Bra's historical buildings. Over the centuries Villa Amistà changed many different owners until when, in 2000, Facchini decided to buy it, despite the building was in very poor conditions. He started transforming it by furnishing it in neo-baroque style.

 

The restoration, and most of the furnishings of the villa, were designed by Alessandro Mendini, the great Italian designer who recently passed away, who, in accordance with Mr. Facchini, has chosen to furnished the hotel with a number of design artworks and one of a kind objects.

 

The spa inside Villa Amistá was inspired by the model of the Romans baths: the exposed parts which are in the water has been covered with Bisazza mosaics, while the interior ceiling and walls were frescoed in neo-Pompeian style by a group of restorers.

 

The villa boasts a collection of 120 contemporary artworks scattered throughout the common areas and rooms, although most of them are concentrated in the lobby area.

 

Facchini had chosen to exhibit part of his private collection at the hotel, giving to Villa Amistà additional artistic prestige with artworks made by Alighiero Boetti, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Anish Kapoor, Sol Lewitt, Piero Manzoni, Vanessa Beecroft, Damien Hirst and many others. The collection shows the owner's passion for the movement of Young British Artists. Thus the Byblos Art Hotel, has really nothing to envy to any museum of contemporary art.

 

 

Fiumara d'Arte located in Castel di Tusa (Messina, Sicily) is a park designed by the Sicilian patron Antonio Presti, son of a businessman from Messina. When his father died, Antonio had to face a difficult reality of making business in Sicily and didn't want to part with its compromises. That's how he started his personal utopic dream, Fiumara d'Arte. The beginning of this project was troubled: Antonio Presti found himself facing false accusations of illegal construction and the hostility of the surrounding municipalities. However, Antonio decided not to give up with his dream and in 1990 he started building Atelier sul Mare.

 

Atelier sul Mare, is located in the province of Messina (Castel di Tusa, Sicily), it is a very special Art Hotel because between 1990 and 2010, Presti involved artists, poets and intellectuals in order to transform each room in a unique artwork. Some rooms have assumed pictorial connotations while in others the plastic value of the material prevails. Other rooms have become spokesmen for social messages such as "The room of the prophet - a tribute to Pierpaolo Pasolini" (1995), a multi-handed design and art room realized by poet Dario Bellezza and Adele Cambria, journalist, writer, both friend of Presti and Pasolini. The room is inspired by a Yemenit hut where a heavy iron door, metaphor a violent society, contrasts with the words of Bellezza, a tribute to the Italian director murdered at Lido di Ostia (Rome) in 1975.

 

Other rooms instead allude to environmental issues such as "The room of the water carriers" (2006) born from a project by Danielle Mitterand, former French president's wife. Her project aims to raise awareness on water consumption and it value as an indispensable resource for us and our planet.

 

The Atelier sul Mare is therefore not only an Art Hotel, but also a work of social redemption in a region of our country which is unfortunately victim of Mafia's interests. The walls of the hall are covered with reproductions of newspapers and magazines telling the story of Sicily where Presti keeps perseuing his Fiumara d'Arte dream.

 

 

The Yard Milano was the result of a lucky coincidence: in search of a place to live with his family, Alessandro Cesa found his vocation instead. Mixing his enthusiasm for a new challenge with the experience gained during his numerous trips, he managed to create a comfortable environment in the heart of Milan.

 

This is how The Yard Milano was born, a prestigious boutique hotel with a vintage soul accompanied by "souvenirs" from all over the world found by Alessandro during his travels. The lobby, a large open space divided into mini-salons, is the perfect place for a cup of tea between dark wooden hat boxes, vintage photographs and sports trophies. Old everyday objects will remind you of Hogwarts and the typically Anglo-Saxon tradition of the brotherhood confraternities, as well as with that of the most prestigious American colleges'. Those who cross the threshold of the welcoming and elegant hotel The Yard,will find themselves immersed in an atmosphere suspended in time where every corner represents a surprise and every object has a story to tell.

 

The Yard is a very exclusive place, more than an Art Hotel, we can define it a Vintage Hotel where contemporary interventions have been made to make the 32 suites more comfortable. Some works of art, design objects and furniture are on sale and, if you can get into the owner's graces, you can have the opportunity to buy a one-of-a-kind piece and the story behind it. We were fascinated by this special place, and if your stay proves to be inaccessible, we recommend you to visit at least the "Doping club" bar or the vintage restaurant furnished in the 50s style. Enjpy the stunning lacquered blue musical instruments on stage! Get ready to fall in love, there is no escape for vintage amatours.