Violino d'Oro is Your New Home in Venice
New Podcast Episode with Sara Maestrelli, Lady of the Palazzo
A few months ago, I found my new home in Venice. No, I am not really going to give up Rome and move back to the floating city, but if I did, my address would be Violino d’Oro, a 32-room boutique hotel that just opened up a hop, skip and a jump from St. Mark’s Square.
Violino d’Oro has history and charm - a centuries-old locanda cobbled to two smaller palazzi. Tt’s got style - every corner of Violino d’Oro is infused with Italian craftsmanship - from the custom designed furniture and handcrafted stucco walls to the pillows covered in Rubelli fabrics, Micheluzzi glass, Fortuny fabrics, antiques, midcentury design pieces, and contemporary art, and all the way down to the hand-placed Venetian seminato terrazzo flooring. It’s effortlessly chic and it feels like home. And that’s the point.
“Violino d’Oro was created as a home,” says co-owner Sara Maestrelli. “Every fabric, piece of furniture, and glass was crafted in Italy, made from superior natural materials and designed to outlast time and trend.”
Ever since I first visited, I’ve made my way back to Violino at least three times. I’ve had the honour of reviewing Violino d’Oro for AFAR, I stopped in for drinks during the Biennale, and I stayed over in February for a chat with Sara Maestrelli, the next gen of family-owned Collezione Em, the small Italian hotel brand that owns Violino.
Self-proclaimed Lady of the Palazzo, Sara was hands on in the design and creation of Violino, along with co-owner Elena Maestrelli, and architect Piera Tempesti Benelli. She relocated her life to Venice, and now considers San Marco her backyard. I sat down with Sara on Ciao Bella to talk about living in Venice and handcrafting a passion project. Click below to listen!
