Modernising Rome

I'm standing in the lobby of the hotel formerly known as the Rome Cavalieri Hilton — a renovated Sixties luxe classic which stands on the verdant slopes of Monte Mario in Rome's north-western suburbs, with a breathtaking view over the city bookended by the dome of St Peter's.

In front of me is another ravishing sight, an artistic masterpiece that any of the world's leading museums would be proud to display. It's a trio of paintings of mythological subjects by 18th-century Venetian Giambattista Tiepolo, referred to collectively as the Palazzo Sandi triptych. Hotel owner Guido Angelo Terruzzi paid a record 7 million (£6.13 million) for these dramatic canvases when the Venetian family that previously owned them auctioned them off at Sotheby's in 2006. Now they hang here, behind protective glass, in a busy lobby.

Above the concierge and reception desks are four Arcadian landscapes by Giuseppe Zais, another 18th-century Venetian artist whose works are on display at the Louvre and the National Gallery. Gods and goddesses disport themselves above the Hertz car rental office in frescoes detached from a villa in Lombardy. There's a Warhol on the wall of the Penthouse Suite, and four of Robert Indiana's iconic pop-art "American Dream" paintings in the Planetarium Suite.

All in all, the Cavalieri has what is widely considered to be the world's best hotel art collection. It also happens to have the best restaurant in Rome — rooftop La Pergola, under the reign of German star chef Heinz Beck, and one of just six restaurants in Italy to boast the Michelin Guide's top accolade of three stars.
When the Cavalieri opened in Rome in 1964, the Dolce Vita was still in full swing, and for Italians still emerging from wartime austerity the Hilton name carried all the right connotations of American cocktail-set panache and elegance. But that was before Hilton Worldwide gathered 3,500 hotels in some 81 nations.

Many people may believe Hilton hotels don't have the same cachet as in the Sixties — presumably this is why those in charge came up with a new brand name for their top-end hotels. Twenty Hiltons including the Rome Cavalieri are now part of the Waldorf Astoria Collection. Next up is London Syon Park, a 137-room nearing completion on a site in Isleworth, west London, due to open early next year.

Back in Rome, it was another new-build that intrigued me: Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid's new MAXXI contemporary art and architecture
gallery, which was inaugurated in May. The Rome Cavalieri is perfectly placed for a visit, as although it's not particularly near historic sights such as the Colosseum, it's just a short taxi hop from MAXXI, which stands on the site of a former army barracks in the upcoming suburb of Flaminio.

This astonishing building was built partly as a home for the Italian state's collection of post-Sixties art, which is still a work in progress — though certain permanent installations, such as Anish Kapoor's menacing Widow, or Giuseppe Penone's intriguing nature-invades-the-room piece Sculture di Linfa, make a virtue of all that space.

MAXXI's other remit is to host Italy's Museum of Architecture, and it organises a series of archi-themed exhibitions, which are supplemented by surveys of leading Italian artists plus other shows featuring upcoming young names. What you see, in other words, depends a lot on when you visit.

March next year promises to be as good a time as any to drop by, to catch the last few weeks of a retrospective dedicated to the great 20th-century architect-engineer Pier Luigi Nervi
(December 15–April 3) and at the same time the opening on March 3 of a major Michelangelo Pistoletto retrospective (until June 26).

But the main reason to visit is to admire Hadid's daring construction.Seen from above, with its illuminated glass ceiling, it looks like a section of electronic circuitry ripped out of its motherboard.

And you don't need to hire a helicopter to get the effect: one of the main flight paths into Rome from the UK passes directly overhead.

DETAILS: ROME
Rome Cavalieri, double rooms from 200, romecavalieri.com

MAXXI, Via Guido Reni 4a, Rome, entrance 11, closed Monday, fondazionemaxxi.it

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