La Posta Vecchia Hotel has played host to the titans of wealth and power and now, thanks to a new refurbishment, it can also play host to you.
Located 40 minutes outside Rome, along the glittering Tyrrhenian Sea, La Posta Vecchia Hotel is on the site of a seaside resort beloved by Roman emperors; the Renaissance palazzo has been home to the noble Orsini family, and 20th-century industrialist Jean Paul Getty.
In 1990, the businessman Roberto Sciò opened the villa to the public as a hotel and now his daughter Marie-Louise has taken up the mantle and has overseen a year-long refurbishment that has culminated in La Posta Vecchia’s grand reopening in May 2023.
Italy is, of course, filled with many dazzling and grand palazzos, but La Posta Vecchia is in a league of its own, both because of its exceptional beauty and its exceptional history.
When Getty was renovating the palace in the 1960s, he unearthed a series of ruins and artefacts from the ancient Roman city of Alsium, which historians traced to the second century BC. The findings included ancient walls, colourful mosaics, African and Greek marbles and an array of plates, and amphorae, all of which are now within a private museum in the cellar that guests can visit when they stay. In addition, the interiors are also filled with an astounding collection of Italian art from the Renaissance onwards, curated by art historian Federico Zeri for Getty.
Each of the 19 rooms is unique, but all mix the glamour of Renaissance opulence with the comfort of modern amenities. Downstairs on the terrace is The Cesar restaurant, where guests can dine on exceptional Italian cuisine while looking out over the sea. To enhance your stay, there is also a spa with a stone indoor pool and treatments using Santa Maria Novella products.
