Experimental Roma – a French interpretation of Italy

Rome is a city I dreamed about for a long time before I had the opportunity to work there. It is extravagant, spectacular and paradoxical. A concentration of beauty and ruins. A living museum, yet also a vibrant, pulsating city carrying the legacy of multiple civilizations: a layered composition of eras, styles and desires.

Via Veneto is where this project was born. The legendary street of La Dolce Vita, synonymous with the glamour of 1950s and 1960s Italy, where paparazzi chased movie stars emerging from grand hotels and actresses in extraordinary gowns stepped out of Alfa Romeo taxis. A street of fantasy, still permeated by the aura of Italian cinema. A place where sensuality, elegance and spirituality coexist.

Rome is not a postcard. It is an inner labyrinth. Once you begin to truly look at it, you see all human societies speaking to one another across time. There is La Grande Bellezza, of course – the celebration, the aesthetics, the solitude, the memory. But there is also Pasolini, with his raw perspective on social tensions and spirituality. For Experimental Roma, I did not want to recreate or imitate a nostalgic vision of Rome. Instead, I wanted to create a living tribute, a free interpretation expressed through materials and space. A place charged with the same tensions that define Rome itself: sacred and profane, splendour and
decadence.

Image credit: Experimental Roma

An atmosphere of light and shadow
Upon entering the lobby, the bustling city outside gives way to an intimate interior where heritage and reinvention blend. Italian opulence is revisited through a distinctly French lens and the legacies of great Italian masters – such as Gio Ponti, Carlo Scarpa and Luigi Caccia Dominioni – are referenced through subtle nods to the 1970s: chrome tubing, disco-inspired accents, lurex carpets, a sculptural staircase and rich and textured materials.

Experimental Cocktail Club Roma serves a seasonal menu of classic cocktails and Experimental signatures crafted using vintage spirits and local ingredients. Throughout the restaurant and public spaces, enveloping banquettes, quilted drapery and exposed beams pay homage to Italian cinema. The rooftop, suspended above the city, features an expansive bar overlooking the Eternal City, a swimming pool, and a terrace.

The rooms: materials, light and desire
The building formerly housed a bank. Today, it is home to 82 rooms divided into two principal categories. The first evokes the theatrical Roman bedroom, bathed in light filtered through interior shutters. Large blocks of colour, dramatic headboards inspired by antique drapery and a sense of romantic intimacy reminiscent of Villa Medici define these spaces. Colourful basins, vibrant details and a richer, more expressive design language create a dialogue between ancient Roman baroque influences and the hedonism of the 1970s.

The second category embraces a more refined, almost futuristic aesthetic. Mineral patinas, two-tone lacquered ceilings and ribbed stainless-steel headboards resembling contemporary sculptures create a contemplative atmosphere. Artworks throughout the rooms evoke the worlds of Cy Twombly, Christo, Ugo Ferranti and the Yvon Lambert Gallery. Here, time feels slower, more reflective – almost museum-like. The bathrooms are conceived as contrasting boxes, balancing warm wood with cool stone, raw materials with bespoke graphic details.

The atmosphere: Rome reflected
Experimental Roma is a hotel of inverted perspectives. A French interpretation of Italy; an Italy reinvented through materials, textures and light. Noble materials interact with reimagined industrial elements. Marble converses with folded stainless steel, while terracotta tones vibrate against polished metal
surfaces. Rome is reflected – quite literally – as if in a mirror. It is a city of shadows and reflections, a city that never exhausts itself, that continues to inspire dreams, desire and thought.

This is the Rome we invite our guests to inhabit.

Main image credit: Experimental Roma