Inaugurated two years ago, in February 2010, Palermo's luxury Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa continues to be one of the most important novelties in the long process of upgrading the old city centre. The Costa degli Ulivi Hotels, a Sicilian hotel group headed by the Di Giovanni family, spent five years on the costly restoration and transformation of the former bank building that dominated Piazza Borsa in the heart of the old city, a stone's throw from Corso Vittorio Emanuele and many of Palermo's most famous monuments and tourist sights.
The hotel, created from the fusion of three important buildings from different eras, has 127 luxury rooms and suites, with views over the rooftops of old Palermo. The long and delicate restoration, carried out by architects Fausto and Sebastian Provenzano, cost an estimated 27 million euro. Special attention was given to preserving many of the original features, such as the pillared cloister and the grand red marble staircase from the former Monastery of the Mercedari Scalzi, an order that specialized in releasing Christian slaves from Muslim countries and enjoyed great prestige in Palermo till the end of the '500. Eventually, the monks took over the adjacent palace belonging to the noble Cattolica Briuccia family, linking the two buildings together with three stone bridges supported by elegant grey marble columns.
The building underwent another transformation in 1907. By then, it had become a bank, the most important bank in Sicily - and Italy's foremost architect of the period, Ernesto Basile, was commissioned to convert it to suit its new role. Basile created a new, monumental facade that turned out to be the blueprint for the Montecitorio palace he was to build in Rome a few years later as the seat of the Italian Parliament.
Much of the fascination of the Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa lies in the unique features that have been preserved from its past. The main entrance is not on Piazza Borsa, but on the narrow alleyway running alongside, the medieval Via dei Cartari, where (as the name reveals) playing cards were once manufactured. Stepping inside, guests find themselves in the stunning 250sqm monastery cloister, covered with a removable roof. Inside, much of the decor and furnishings date from the arte nouveau period, when they were created according to Basile's design in the laboratories of master craftsman Vittorio Ducrot, who also made furniture and fitments for cruise ships and the new Montecitorio Parliament. The first floor conference room, which was originally the office of the bank's president, is now called after Ducrot and still preserves its splendid wood pannelled ceiling and arte nouveau decor. The atmosphere of the past is ever present in the floral frescoes of the Winter Garden and the decorations and lighting of the main Kemonia restaurant, which was once the bank floor and faces directly onto Piazza Borsa. The Kemonia has the proud claim of being the first Palermo restaurant created inside a historic building. The present, however, is also well represented. The Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa offers guests twenty-first century facilities in service and comfort, both in its guest rooms and its well-equipped Aloe spa and wellness centre.
For information: Tel. 0039)091.320075 www.piazzaborsa.com www.costadegliulivihotels.it
