Where would we be without Venice, that elegantly wasted relic, sinking beautifully under the weight of its own architectural history? We’d certainly be a few Shakespeare plays worse off, and a few famous romantic liaisons lighter. Perhaps the iconic image of the city is the masked ball, where carnival princes and princesses donned outrageously decadent costumes, feathered and sequinned, ate and drank too much and got up to mischief without even knowing who they were misbehaving with.
It’s that mysterious mix of sensuality and epicurian grandeur that pervades Palazzina G, a Philippe Starck-designed hotel which invites you to be a temporary Venetian during your stay with them. Countess Enrica Rocca will take you on a tour of the hidden bacari (Venetian restaurants) that only the locals know about, or you can tour the local market with the hotel chef, selecting ingredients to be prepared in the hotel’s show kitchen. We’d be spending all our time indoors though, since the interior is as spectacular as the city’s history demands.
This is a place where even the dogs on the walls look aristocratic, and it’s had Hollywood royalty staying here, hosting Jonny Depp for 3 months while he made that dodgy film with Mrs Pitt. Not surprising the film sucked. He probably didn’t want to leave his suite.
Photo © Aldo and Cristiana Martinelli
Photo © Aldo and Cristiana Martinelli
Photo © Aldo and Cristiana Martinelli
Photo © Ivan Terestchenko
Photo © Ivan Terestchenko
Photo © Aldo and Cristiana Martinelli
Photo © Ivan Terestchenko
Photo © Aldo and Cristiana Martinelli
Photo © Ivan Terestchenko
Photo © Ivan Terestchenko
Photo © Aldo and Cristiana Martinelli
