Destination Europe: Soho House Rome
Rome is one of those cities where there’s an intimidating – if not outrightly aggressive – amount of things to see: there’s the Colosseum, Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Pantheon, the Forum, the Catacombs, the Spanish Steps, plus much else besides, and they’re all jostling for your attention. So, you ricochet frantically between them, either out of genuine interest or a sense of obligation, all the while battling crowds and consuming what can only be described as (ironically enough) ungodly amounts of pasta, gelato, and vino della casa.
As a cultural experience, it’s awe-inspiring, it’s edifying, it’s emotional – and it’s ridiculously exhausting. It feels bad to admit it, but antiquities fatigue, plus the sheer contempt you feel for your fellow humans when forced to gather with approximately three million of them in order to catch a glimpse of the Trevi Fountain, will really take it out of you.
When it all gets too much, Soho House Rome is the only getaway plan you need. Located in the heart of San Lorenzo, an arty, anarchic quarter that’s more associated with grunge and grit than tourist groups and overpriced church merch, our new club is situated on Via Cesare De Lollis, a short walk from Sapienza University. Here’s everything you need to know about escaping to our Italian House.
The interiors and rooftop pool
In a first for Soho House, the building was masterminded by our in-house team: its specially designed travertine and plaster-clad façade features balconies and Crittall windows on every level, giving it an industrial feel that draws inspiration from the Pastificio Cerere Foundation building and artists’ studios in San Lorenzo.
Designed to give 360 degree views across the city, the 10th floor rooftop has a pool, bar, and restaurant. The bar and restaurant occupy three sides of the space, and a large mural by artist Gio Pistone is painted on the wall above a row of banquettes. The bar, finished in terracotta with a brick tile front, features furniture upholstered in Italian burgundy and green, with festoon lighting, lemon trees, and trails of vines adding to the mood.
One floor down, the House Kitchen is decorated with Italian ceramic lamps and bespoke mustard-yellow rugs, and industrial metal shelving sits above locally sourced marble counters. In the Drawing Room, running down the other side of the building, is a lounge with green walls, light herringbone floor, and a burlwood-fronted bar. A travertine fireplace and vintage furniture, including armchairs and marble tables, complete the space.
The bedrooms
The House has 49 bedrooms set across three floors; ranging from Tiny to XXL, most have balconies overlooking the city. All bedrooms have Roman Graniglia flooring, stucco-rendered walls, and timber wave-shaped bed frames. The ceramic bedside table lamps, hand-painted with a carved top and crackled glaze finish, are a special collaboration with Italian designer Bitossi – first made in the 1970s – and have been remade exclusively for the House.
Located on the fifth floor, the XXL bedroom is designed with relaxation and entertainment in mind: a freestanding bath set in front of the window looks out across Rome, and the lounge features a big dining room table, bar, and DJ decks.
The House also includes 20 long-stay apartments: available as studios, and one, two, and three beds, they’re furnished with pieces sourced from vintage markets, as well as bespoke items that take inspiration from classic Italian furniture.
The art collections
Consisting predominantly of works by artists who live and work in Italy, the Soho House Rome art collection places particular emphasis on Lazio-based artists. A ‘saints and sinners’ theme informs the curation in the main club space: local and international artists were invited to create works inspired by this concept, and the interpretations are myriad and inventive, from football superfans to Mary Magdalene iconography. Featured artists include Gianni Politi, Silvia Giambrone, Claudio Verna, Elisa Montessori, Emiliano Maggi, Gabriele de Santis, Micol Assaël, Rä di Martino, Marta Mancini, Manfredi Gioacchini, Andrea Martinucci, and Thomas Braida.
A second collection, located in the ground floor Studio space, features international artists’ responses to the idea of quarantine – an exercise in which creatives such as Thomas Heatherwick, Xaviera Simmons, Dread Scott, Sol Calero, Zoe Buckman, Ilit Azoulay and Chi Wo Leung collaborated with an artist in another city to produce a piece together.
The food and drink
The newly opened Cecconi’s Terrazza restaurant on the 10th floor provides Italian favourites that are the perfect accompaniment to those panoramic views. Here, you’ll find creamy burrata with cherry tomatoes and basil, and Venetian classics such as beef and ricciola carpaccio with stracciatella and fresh mint. There’s also handmade pasta and seafood aplenty: tagliatelle bolognese, prawn ravioli with fresh tomato, and lobster spaghetti that’s served with a fiery puttanesca sauce. And, of course, all manner of classic wood-fired pizzas: spicy salami with mushrooms and fontina, marinara with anchovies, garlic and cherry tomatoes, and salty prosciutto San Daniele with rocket and burrata.
The House Kitchen, located on the ninth floor, is a space for all-day eating and drinking, with an open kitchen, dining banquettes, chairs and marble tables throughout. The menu is divided by courses, but also by style – this means you can choose between dishes that appear on Soho House menus all over the world, and ones that have been specially created for the Rome club (insider tip: get the rigatoni amatriciana every time, and wash it down with a glass of Sangiovese.)
Soho Health Club
A new fitness, health and wellness space from Soho House, with class-based workouts, cutting-edge equipment and the latest treatments, Soho Health Club is set across the seventh and eighth floors of the House. The Health Club has been designed to reinvent the way we take care our ourselves in today’s world, so your wellness journey could include cryogenic chamber therapy, an ozone machine session, a massage, or (possibly best of all) a yoga session on our balcony, where sunrises and sunsets cast a dreamy glow over the roofs of the city.
See the full story here.
