Palazzo Ripetta. New 5 star hotel with the pastry art of Giuseppe Solfrizzi

Via Ripetta among large hotels and designer tables

On one side, Piazza del Popolo, on the other, Largo Augusto Imperatore. In the middle, the Academy of Fine Arts with its students, a few historic shops, and - a few - new ones. In via Ripetta you can still breathe a neighbourhood vibe, relaxed, romantic and a little melancholy, it may be due to some closed venues, or a lifestyle that stubbornly resists the invasion of the daily grind. In short, nothing to do with the other avenues of the Tridente. Like a tightrope between the works of Caravaggio (those kept in the Cerasi chapel) and a relic from the Roman era of the Ara Pacis or the Mausoleum of Augustus, via Ripetta is preparing to experience a renaissance, thanks to the large investments that will transform it into one of the new streets of hospitality, without betraying its original spirit.

The building that used to house INPS (Italian public pension system) at the base of which there was the glorious 'Gusto restaurant for two decades, will welcome the first Bulgari Hotel in Rome at the beginning of the new year, with an all-Italian gastronomic proposal by Niko Romito, but along the road a race has started, amid construction sites, between two new openings we will hear much about. Separated by a handful of metres are: Palazzo Capponi where Romeo is expected - Roman branch of the homonymous hotel in Naples (Kenzo Tange studio designed the Naples spaces, here it was Zaha Hadid) which has been talked about for over five years - the other is the new Palazzo Ripetta, in the 17th-century spaces of the former Conservatory of Divine Providence. A true outsider of Roman hôtellerie, Palazzo Ripetta will be a fundamental piece - together with the nearby The First Arte with the Molinari Terrace and Acquolina with Daniele Lippi in via del Vantaggio - of a true citadel of hospitality at the service of tourists and residents, with dining offers of different style and level, which promise to revive this area at various times of the day.

Palazzo Ripetta: understatement and great hospitality in Rome centre

As a conservatory it was the shelter for young unmarried women, after a restoration that lasted a couple of years and an investment of 20 million euros, it is preparing to become an independent 5-star hotel. One of the very few independently owned in the city, a bit like the neighbouring Hassler which today - after the sudden death of owner Roberto Wirth, has passed into the hands of the new generation. And there is also talk of a new generation in this case, too: Giacomo Crisci is in fact the CEO of the Ginobbi Group, owner of the building. Forty-something Crisci aims to embody "an idea of ​​modern 5-star hôtellerie, which knows how to put the art, history and culture of our country at the centre." Luxury, yes, but polite, elegant, respectful of the sense of place, in a building now restored to its splendour and returned to the city, because if it's true that the 78 rooms (designed by designer Fausta Gaetani and studio MOI Architetti) will be lived in by tourists from every country, there is a large area open to all, with the restaurant serving as a privileged gateway, ambassador of art, culture, lifestyle, beauty and taste that sometimes everyday life hides from view. Perhaps this is why the first space announced is the most democratic one: the pastry shop housed in the internal courtyard, aka Piazzetta Ripetta, a sort of agora of good taste where one can stop as early as 7:00 am for breakfast. The grand opening is scheduled for September, followed shortly after by a cocktail bar and restaurant, and then - last in chronological order - the panoramic terrace, another manifestation of understatement, which welcomes as if in a home, with a program dotted by delicious events. The spearhead of the hotel is the San Baylon restaurant dedicated to the Spanish Saint who according to some is the inventor of zabajone (which obviously will not be missing from the offer). Therefore, we could only start with the patisserie (on sight, right in the centre of the room) and dessert, with a reassuring, but authorial proposal. Author with a capital A.

Giuseppe Solfrizzi and his pastry specialties at the hotel

The pastry shop is entrusted in the hands of Giuseppe Solfrizzi, whom Romans in the know (and not only) know as the owner of Le Levain, a Trastevere pastry shop whose products rely on quality butter and leavened products. Here Solfrizzi makes French pastries however with Puglia tradition. Now for the first time Solfrizzi looks outside of his shop, and does so in a super-hotel, confirming the trend that sees haute patisserie as the business card of the big hotels determined to take Rome by storm, as the neighbour The First Dolce (the mini hotel chain that has just opened The First Musica) and the new W Rome have demonstrated. "When Dario contacted me, I thought about it for a while, and after a few meetings we agreed" Dario is Dario Laurenzi, PR consultant for the food aspect of Palazzo Ripetta, who called Roberto Liorni himself to define dining spaces. In the past he had given life to 'Gusto (whose vicissitudes of the last few years we have closely followed). A winning team cannot be changed. But it is enriched with high-ranking professionals who will be announced in due time, so stay tuned.

Giuseppe Solfrizzi's proposal at Palazzo Ripetta

Early morning risers can enjoy the famous Solfrizzi leavened products, "viennoiserie, croissant and a dedicated line," Not surprising since, after his beginnings at Gambero Rosso schools, he continued his training in France: the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie in Lyon, before stopping at the court of Alain Ducasse in France and then alongside pâtissier-chocolatier Jean-Philippe Darcis in Belgium. Today, almost 8 years after the birth of Le Levain, Solfrizzi is ready for new challenges such as Palazzo Ripetta. Here the pastry offer is articulated: amenities and breakfasts (but only for the sweet part, with brioche and puff pastries and perhaps a specially designed spreadable cream) for room service, all-butter pastries (using d'Isigny butter, of course) with croissants (both sweet and savoury) "in perfect Le Levain style," baked cakes, tarts and muffins for breakfast in the Piazzetta, single portions available all day, through a savoury proposal, along the lines of what's available in the Trastevere flagship: stuffed baguettes, with his naturally leavened bread (after all, le levain in French means sourdough starter), quiche, croque monsieur espresso, the iconic cropizzas (delicious puffed pizzas) "maybe in different flavours," and sandwiches, like the one with olive bread pistachio, onion, mackerel and artichokes, plus all the fast food coté with burgers and potatoes made by the on-site chefs. Much is still being defined, but the fixed point is bread: bun or white sandwich style, mostly produced in via Ripetta, also made by Solfrizzi who is "ready to raise the bar higher" and will not fail to add new proposals even at tea and aperitif time.

Giuseppe Solfrizzi pastry chef for San Baylon at Palazzo Ripetta

The real novelty, however, is Solfrizzi's transition to restaurant pastry, for San Baylon, where he will also bake bread. "I'll have to get out of my comfort zone, showcase desserts, and make some custom-made desserts for San Baylon. For me it's a new challenge" he explains. "But I don't want to make an abstract, 'star-studded' pastry, even if I've already made it at Ducasse's." So what should we expect? "I don't think of a dish that is broken down in which you don't understand anything, I prefer to start from a more recognisable shape, maybe take a little pear, and then transform it, always with a beautiful presentation, little sugar and lots of taste. But I want to work on simplicity, on classics reinterpreted with elegance: cheesecake, profiterole, pavlova, rum baba with chantilly cream, and the inevitable tiramisu. But modernised." How? "I'm still working on it," he smiles. But then he adds: "I really like playing with finishing the dessert at the table: a foam, a process, a sauce - for example an exotic jus to be poured to finish the pavlova - and I would like to propose something with guéridon. And then," he continues "there will be something more experimental, we will try to dare a little more on pastry." Without forgetting the zabajone declined in a different way at every moment of the year: "It will always be on the menu, I want to explore every possible nuance," he promises. For the future of Palazzo Ripetta, you just need to wait a few more weeks, when the entire team will be presented. It will be fun, we are sure.

Palazzo Ripetta – Rome –  via di Ripetta, 231 - palazzoripetta.com