Hotel Savoy: Renaissance Redux

How Hotel Savoy's 25th anniversary renovation evokes the renaissance art of sprezzatura: making extraordinary hospitality, art and design appear effortlessly timeless.

By LF ITALY

June 2025

Florence is a city that doesn’t so much announce its grandeur as quietly embody it. While tourists jostle for selfies in front of the Duomo or queue for hours to glimpse at Michelangelo’s heart shaped-pupil David, the truly discerning slip into spaces where beauty and refinement are not just displayed but lived—places like Hotel Savoy, which, on its 25th anniversary, has unveiled two spectacular new spaces that remind us why Italian hospitality remains the gold standard. Opened in 1893 and meticulously restored under the Rocco Forte banner, Hotel Savoy occupies what might be the most enviable piece of real estate in Florence—a corner of Piazza della Repubblica, the grand, café-lined square where the city’s past and present effortlessly mingle. With just 79 rooms and suites, it’s intimate without feeling exclusive, elegant yet never intimidating.

Olga Polizzi, Rocco Forte’s Director of Design, has ensured the interiors feel like the private residence of a particularly discerning Florentine aristocrat. “La mia ispirazione trae origine sempre dal luogo,” she says. “Ciascuno dei nostri hotel ha una sua precisa identità.” Indeed, the Savoy has an identity steeped in Tuscan heritage, yet for all its rare and wonderful appeal, it feels like home. With Florence overrun with so-called “authentic” experiences that are anything but, the Savoy offers something rare: Irene Restaurant, helmed by master chefs Fulvio Pierangelini and Giovanni Cosmai, and Artemisia Bar, crafted by Salvatore Calabrese, “The Maestro,” and Federico Pavan. Two spaces inspired by extraordinary women, offering experiences where every dish and drink tells a story—where art is not performance but a way of being. Why does this matter? Because as you dine, watching the golden light fade over Piazza della Repubblica, you’ll feel it—that quiet certainty that this is the lost Florence you were hoping to find.

Irene Restaurant, Hotel Savoy - Florence

Irene RestaurantNamed after Sir Rocco Forte’s mother, Irene is a masterclass in Italian elegance—walnut paneling, Pietrasanta marble floors, Loro Piana fabrics that beg to be touched, and Murano glass chandeliers that glow with quiet confidence. "Accomodati e fermati un po'. Porta amici. Trovane altri," ("Make yourself at home and stay awhile. Bring friends. Meet new ones.") the staff seems to whisper. Here, time expands, glasses refill themselves, and dishes—prepared with effortless mastery—arrive precisely when they should. Every element, from the Tuscan stone to the Venetian glass, evokes the atmosphere of a true Florentine home. Chef Fulvio Pierangelini, a culinary visionary who treats ingredients like sacred relics, describes his philosophy as "schietto e sincero"—simple and sincere. "Il piatto deve arrivare in tavola schietto e sincero per farsi sogno, senza mostrare alcuno sforzo nell’esecuzione," ("The dish should arrive at the table honest enough to become a dream, showing no effort in its execution,") he says.

His menu is Tuscan in soul: pappa al pomodoro (Tuscan tomato and bread soup) that tastes like summer distilled into a bowl, handmade pastas so flawless they defy refinement, and desserts so exquisitely balanced you might—for a fleeting moment, or longer—contemplate moving to Florence just to enjoy them daily. Step onto the terrace overlooking Piazza della Repubblica, and you'll understand why this is Florence's most privileged vantage point. "Da Irene, il tempo si dilata, i bicchieri si riempiono e i piatti, preparati con maestria, arrivano giusto in tempo," ("At Irene, time stretches, glasses refill, and dishes—prepared with mastery—arrive right on time.") Artemisia BarIf Irene is dedicated to  the refined matriarch, then Artemisia Bar is her brilliant, slightly rebellious heir.

Named after Artemisia Gentileschi, the 17th-century painter who blazed through Florence’s male-dominated art world with the subtlety of a cannonball, the bar is as bold and dramatic as her canvases. The design embraces her legacy—fierce chiaroscuro lighting straight out of Caravaggio’s playbook, fresco-like wall treatments, and a rich walnut bar that seems pulled from a Medici palazzo. But here, the art unfolds in the glass, where Salvatore Calabrese (inventor of modern classics like the Breakfast Martini) and Federico Pavan, Head of Mixology for Rocco Forte Hotels, have crafted a cocktail menu that’s equal parts history lesson and liquid art. As you sip, the bar transforms into a theatre—each cocktail and appetizer a scene of Florence, painted not with oils but with tomato-liquor hues and basil-oil brushstrokes. Even the glassware whispers Baroque drama and Salvatore's grace and elegance infuses the space with an air of the dolce vita era.

Artemisia Bar, Hotel Savoy - Florence

How does the artistic spirit of Artemisia Gentileschi influence your approach to the cocktail menu at Bar Artemisia?

SALVATORE CALABRESE:  Artemisia was a trailblazer—Florence’s first woman admitted to the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno and one of its most celebrated painters. We wanted to channel her boldness into something quintessentially Florentine: the ritual of aperitivo. The name "Artemisia" plays a dual role—honouring the artist while nodding to the herb used in vermouth. Just as she wove drama and light into her paintings, we weave Florence itself into our cocktails: its art, its leather craftsmanship, the Arno’s bridges, even dishes like pappa al pomodoro. Every element tells a story.

Leather-aged cocktails—can you walk us through this technique and how it enhances the Tuscan drinking experience?

S.C: Tuscan leather is world-renowned. We pay homage by aging cocktails in edible leather for one week—it gently infuses them with depth and texture, creating a smoother, more rounded finish. It’s not just a technique; it’s a celebration of Florence’s heritage, bottled.

Tell us about the signature cocktail dedicated to its namesake artist (Artemisia Gentileschi).

S.C: The Artemisia Martini is her namesake drink. Inspired by pappa al pomodoro, we craft it with Italian vodka, Mancino Vermouth, Aqua Bianca, and tomato liqueur, then finish it with basil-infused olive oil. It’s served in custom purple glassware—the color of Florence’s irises. Simple, elegant, and bold, just as Artemisia’s art was. We think she’d approve.