There are stories that are told and stories that can be kept in envelopes. This one has both characteristics and takes place in the Italian city of Naples, and more specifically at The Britannique Hotel Naples, Curio Collection By Hilton, which has not always had this name. Built in the 19th century, the MacPherson’s Hotel Britannique has now reopened after a thorough renovation that has retained the classic facade and décor of the hotel, which first opened in 1870. As in the most memorable postcards, which still exist today, you can admire the slopes and hills of the Chiaia district through the large façade windows that accompany each floor to the top of the building, where a glass and steel structure houses the bar and gourmet restaurant, overlooking the bay and Mount Vesuvius. The lighting, one of the project’s key elements, with catalogue products and, technologically advanced, customised designs, was developed by lighting company Fabbian, a choice of the architectural studio Gnosis Progetti. The aim of the Gnosis team, said Rossella Traversari, was to transfer the most fascinating and evocative aspects of the city to a long-abandoned space, accepting the challenge of moving from the urban scale of the building to that of detail, right down to the decorative fittings of the interiors. Seeing the story, in loco or through photographs, the mission has been accomplished.
