At Palazzo Margherita you can sleep in the director’s room or in the room of his daughter Sofia. Discover the experience
Francis Ford Coppola is not a director accustomed to minimalism, see the super productions he directed, such as the trilogy The Godfather, Apocalypse Now And Dracula. So I was intrigued when I got to stay in the director’s hotel a Bernaldaa small town in the region of Basilicatawest of Puglia.
Not having a sign, a sign, a clue from the Palazzo Margherita hotel was curious. After doing back and forth three times through the Corso Umberto I, I saw a small door. I parked in the forecourt and went inside. It was a bar, the Cinecittà, covered in images of Italian actors, but I didn’t see any indication that there was a luxury hotel there. I was received by Rossella De Filippo, the director of the Palazzo, a woman of ultra elegance and cordiality. “Come on, the entrance to the palace is next door,” and she led me to the sidewalk. Next to? Rossella opened an unsuspecting door to the left of the bar, and I almost stepped back: a huge chandelier hung from the ceiling and, in an internal courtyard, umbrellas with tables on either side gave way to a garden. And, as if a director were shouting “Action!”, The yellow butterflies flew in, I swear to God. I don’t know what expression you had at that moment, but Rossella caught it. “This is the effect that Mr. Francis wants to have on those who come for the first time, an entry into heaven; that’s why he wanted to keep the facade discreet.”
Mister Francis is how Rossella refers to her boss, with whom she speaks weekly via e-mail about the affairs of the Palace. Bernalda is not featured in travel guides, but she is a place to live Italy like her. The postcard contains the same Italians, who fill Corso Umberto on Friday and Saturday nights, laugh, drink, live. La Coppola and Bernalda are inextricably linked. The director’s grandfather, Agostino, was born in the city and went “to make America” in 1904. The first time that the still anonymous Francis set foot there was in 1962, at the age of 22, and always came back. In 1994, the Oscar-winning director was invited to attend a procession from the balcony of an 1892 building and was delighted. She was Margherita. It took years to convince the previous owner to sell it, plus another five for a major restoration. The director is not a novice hotelier. With hotels in Buenos Aires, Guatemala and Belize, he invited his children to give their personal touch to the project, led by decorator Jacques Grange, the same person who designed Yves Saint Laurent’s house in Morocco.
As soon as I left my things in the room, actually Roman’s son, who is also a director and who wrote the script for Moonrise Kingdom with Wes Wenderson, Rosaria, the receptionist, invited me on a tour. When we left the room, he left the door open. Close ?, I ask. “If you want,” she replied. I realized that I was not staying in a normal hotel, but at the Coppola house. So much so that in the sequence, Rosária handed me a bundle that contained the keys to the room, the front door and the courtyard. Next to my room was Mister Francis’s, of Tunisian inspiration. Turquoise mosaic floor, desk in front of a large window, fireplace, frescoes and Moorish patterned tiles in the stunning bathroom.
In the other wing, Sofia Coppola’s room is the opposite: walls and sofas in soft tones show the same delicacy and femininity as her films. The touch is due to the painting on the walls, which imitates a gazebo. Roman’s room has an art deco style, cleaner. There are nine suites in total, three of them on the ground floor, smaller and with some updates, such as a wonderful garden with a vegetable tunnel in front (where Sofia got married), a swimming pool a few meters away and daily rates from € 1,280. one third of the price of the family suites. Despite all the refinement, which perhaps combined with the butlers in white gloves, the atmosphere is informal, or, as the host wants, luxury without affectation. And in fact, the formality would be better in Taormina than in Basilicata.
When Mr. Francis comes on vacation, does the Palace close for guests? I asked Rossella. “Nothing changes. Mister Francis and his family are very simple people,” she said. Another striking place is the living room which turns into a cinema. A click on the wall and a screen goes down, another click and the Murano chandelier goes up. Both there and in the rooms, all with Loewe 3D TVs, you can watch a selection of hundreds of Italian films via AppleTV, but curiously none of Coppola’s. I took the matter to Rossella. “I had this same doubt and Mr. Coppola’s explanation was that the Palazzo was no place for his ego.” Mister Coppola samba a lot in that period. And the faithful squire corrects himself: «But the guests want to see The Godfather And Apocalypse now in the projection room; so, even without his knowledge, I ordered the DVDs and kept them in a corner of the wardrobe “.
Palazzo Margherita is 113 kilometers from Bari, where the nearest airport is located and which receives flights from different parts of Europe. Book your accommodation in Palazzo Margherita here
MATERA
In Bernaldaa 39-kilometer stretch leads to one of the most fascinating cities in the south Italy, Matera. The place was inhabited since the Paleolithic by nomads who built their shelters in gorges of limestone, a material similar to that of the soil of Cappadocia. Around the year 1000 the houses that remained intact appeared and took the name of Città dei Sassi, or Città dei Sassi. The villas are distributed in two distinct areas, the Sasso Caveoso and the Sasso Barisano. It is advisable to visit the place in the late afternoon, always. And not just for the heat, which in July and August can reach 40 degrees, but to see the buildings go from white and gray to amber when the lights are turned on.
There are also cave churches between the 8th and 13th centuries, many covered with Byzantine frescoes, such as Santa Lucia Alle Malve and Santa Maria di Idris. But what is striking about Matera is the fact that they are two cities in one. There is the Matera of the stones, mysterious and silent, a place that always seems ready to be the backdrop to a biblical film ( Christ’s passion, by Mel Gibson, was filmed there), and the new town, above, with its baroque churches and noisy squares that are occupied every night by locals who come out for the promenade.
Cableway
Medieval village with many ruins, Castelmezzano80 kilometers from Matera, is at the foot of curious rock formations. It has a center, Piazza Caizzo, with a beautiful Romanesque church. The stone paths lead you Pietrapertosa, the highest town in Basilicata, full of small houses on the rocks. It’s really nice to go from one to the other with the Flight of the Angel, a zip line that flies 1000 meters high
POOR SAINT
A crowd fills the streets with Matera to the Festa della Bruna, celebrated since 1389 on 2 July in honor of the patron saint of the city. The party has fireworks, processions. At the height, a chariot with the saint is destroyed by the people.
WHERE STAY
In Bernalda, the success is Palazzo Margherita di Coppola. In MateraCorte San Pietro is located in Sasso Caveoso.
Source: Terra
Benjamin Smith is a fashion journalist and author at Gossipify, known for his coverage of the latest fashion trends and industry insights. He writes about clothing, shoes, accessories, and runway shows, providing in-depth analysis and unique perspectives. He’s respected for his ability to spot emerging designers and trends, and for providing practical fashion advice to readers.
