Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has won approval to convert part of a 15th-century Italian palace into a Vatican City luxury hotel. The agreement was announced in Rome last week, however Four Seasons is yet to make a formal announcement.
In partnership with Miami-based real estate developer, Fort Partners, Fours Seasons will manage the 55- to 60-room property and restaurant that is located just outside Vatican City, and a few minutes walk from St. Peter’s Basilica, the Wall Street Journal said.
The hotel will occupy the Palazzo Della Rovere, a Renaissance building. The site is a short walk from the Colosseum, the Imperial Roman Forum, The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona.
The palace contains many works of art including the frescoes of Pinturicchio on the main floor, making it a place of significance for Roman religious and historic heritage, and is very popular with art lovers and the Italian elite, reports the National Catholic Register.
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Fort Partners inked a deal for a 30-year lease with the owner, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. The Catholic Church donated the building in 1999 to the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, a Catholic organisation that operates in parts of the Middle East.
The Order had been searching for a new hotel operator to “manage and take charge of the necessary restoration work” since 2000 – after Hotel Colombus closed two years earlier – at which time Fort Partners had been identified as the strongest prospect.
Last Friday [10 March 2023], the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre signed the agreement with Fort Partners, to be operated by Four Seasons.
Fort Partners will invest 54 million euros into the restoration, working alongside Italian architect Fabrizio Casiraghi.
The project is expected to open in 2025.