Accommodation
- 9 bedroom suites with en-suite bathroom
- Maximum occupancy: 23 guests
Facilities
- Walled garden
- Courtyard
- Swimming pool
- Pool bathrooms, showers, and cabins
- Pool Bar
- Pool bar and food service
- Vegetable garden
- Complementary shuttle to beach (15 minute drive)
- Hand-painted fresco ceilings
- Tiled floors
- Two private bars
- Beautiful Salon which can be turned into a screening room
- ‘Eat-in’ kitchen
- Italian grigliata (barbecue)
- Continental/local breakfast (homemade pastries, fresh local cheeses, local artisanal cold cuts, fruits and juices)
In-room amenities
The Palazzo dedicated staff are always available to assist guests with any needs during their stay.
- Gratis in-room bar
- State-of-the-art High Definition 3D television
- Blu-ray/DVD player/Apple TV
- Vast digital movie collection specialising in Italian Cinema
- Towels for the pool and the beach
- Complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi
- Air conditioning
- Bath products with fragrances personally curated by Sofia Coppola
- Bicycles
- Private yoga or Pilates teachers upon request*
- In-room massage upon request*
*Additional charges apply
“The Palazzo is a dream come true. Its magical gardens, family and friends gathering in the magnificent Salon for whatever purpose; celebrations, intimate teas, or evenings of films. It is a painted palace, with frescos on its ceilings and walls, palatial rooms with countless details, modern in terms of its systems, music and cinema available like hot and cold running water; yet the patina of its epoch is preserved, and when the children are there, delight is everywhere.”
The Palazzo was completely restored by Francis Ford Coppola and acclaimed French designer Jacques Grange, creating a luxurious, authentically Italian experience that ushers guests into a private world of palatial comfort. Surrounded by gardens, a courtyard, and a swimming pool, and steps from Bernalda, a small, bustling town where visitors are friends and neighbours rather than tourists.
Francis wanted the Palazzo to become a place that his children would visit time and time again, so he invited the whole family to contribute ideas to its design. It is this very sense of family that distinguishes The Palazzo as one of the most charming small luxury hotels in Italy. The interior décor is styled with tiled floors as well as hand-painted fresco ceilings. Grange designed some of the exotic tiles and furniture, including one of the most beautiful suites, that is in a North African style to honour Francis’s Tunisian-born grandmother. All of the floors in The Palazzo have been restored from the original marble.
Garden Suite One
A traditional room on the ground floor that opens directly onto the courtyard garden and fountain. It has a spacious sitting room with floor-to-ceiling windows and large bathroom with a clawfoot bathtub and a separate glass shower. Queen-size bed. Capacity 3.
Garden Room Two
An elegant room that opens directly onto the private garden and fountain with vaulted ceilings, large closet and a writing desk. The beautiful bathroom has a clawfoot bathtub overlooking the garden. Queen-size bed. Capacity 2.
Garden Room Three
This room has grand barn-like doors opening onto the inner courtyard. A luxurious bathroom includes a clawfoot bathtub and a separate glass shower. Queen-size bed. Capacity 3.
Suite Four
Jacques Grange designed this suite with Sofia Coppola; its mood is delicate and feminine, with hand-painted frescos, a Juliet balcony overlooking the courtyard and a palatial bathroom with steam shower and clawfoot bathtub. French doors lead to a furnished private terrace with a magical view of the garden. King-size bed. Capacity 2*.
Suite Five
A majestic ceiling with a hand-painted restored fresco and a spacious bathroom with a clawfoot bathtub and separate shower. A Juliet balcony faces the main street and town square and there is an upstairs loft with a single bed and seating area, perfect for a child or as a secluded reading room. This is the only suite which can host a family of up to 4 guests (2 adults + 2 children 0-14 y.o.), with an extra bed in the main bedroom. (Not suited to accommodate 4 adults). King-sized bed.
Suite Six
This suite pays tribute to the Italian décor of the early 20th century, combining simple elegance with bold ornament. A Juliet balcony opens onto the leafy town square. The magnificent ceiling has restored, hand-painted fresco and the spacious bathroom has a clawfoot bathtub and separate shower. King-size bed. Capacity 3.
Suite Seven
Designed by Jacques Grange in collaboration with Roman Coppola with Art Deco furniture and lighting, an elegant slate bathroom, and restored fresco. It includes a fully furnished shared terrace for dining or relaxing outdoors and a Juliet balcony that opens to the beautiful courtyard below. A lavish bathroom has a separate shower and clawfoot bathtub. King-size bed. Capacity 2.
Suite Eight
Designed as a gift to Gia Coppola, Francis’s first granddaughter, this suite features a subtle Rococo design with a delicate fresco on the ceiling symbolising good fortune and harmony to lovers. A large walk-in closet and separate dressing room add to the dramatic scale. There is a balcony and spacious bathroom with a clawfoot bathtub and shower. King-size bed. Capacity 3.
Suite Nine
Integrating subtle elements of North African design this suite has a furnished shared terrace overlooking the garden and courtyard. It has a striking tiled fireplace and an anteroom with a large writing desk. A luxurious bathroom has a clawfoot bathtub and separate shower. High ceilings feature beautifully restored paintings and frescos. 795 square feet Capacity 2*.
*Special accommodations are available for reservations of the entire hideaway.
The Palazzo is situated in Bernalda, a small hilltop town in the Basilicata region of Southern Italy. Located in the province of Matera, famous for its ancient cave dwellings, dramatic landscapes, and historic houses, Bernalda is relatively unknown outside of Italy.
It is just ten minutes from the coast, where miles of white sand beaches border the Mediterranean. While the neighbouring region of Puglia has become popular with tourists, Basilicata is largely undiscovered, one of a few remaining parts of Italy where the culture, food, and wine remain authentic and untouched by the world beyond. The locals offer genuine hospitality making every visitor feel more like a friend or neighbour than a tourist. It is said that anyone who visits Bernalda cannot resist returning.
The Palazzo was built in Bernalda around the mid-19th century by the Margherita family. The town was the birthplace and home to Agostino Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola’s grandfather, who always referred to it affectionately as “Bernalda bella.” Francis purchased the Palazzo in 2004 to transform it into a small, luxurious Italian boutique hotel, believing it was time to introduce visitors to this stunning and undiscovered region.
The surrounding countryside, which the Greeks settled in before the Roman era, is part of the Hellenic Magna Graecia- the coastal areas of Southern Italy – where the thriving local agriculture produces sumptuous fruits and vegetables, as well as the Aglianico grapes used to make wines of the same name. Nestled between the ancient cities of Metapontum and Matera, the area is rich with history, including haunting primordial cave dwellings called Sassi di Matera (meaning “stones of Matera”), a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Matera has been declared a European Capital of Culture for 2019.
How to get here
- Intercontinental guests may fly into Rome or Naples
- Bari Airport is located one hour and twenty minutes from the property
- Brindisi Airport is located one hour and twenty minutes from the property.
- Private charters can fly into Taranto-Grottaglie Airport, forty-five minutes from the property.
- Private transports are available upon request.
