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Palazzo Talìa: The Rome Hotel with a Secret Garden and Ravioli Worth Flying Back For

Palazzo Talìa: The Rome Hotel with a Secret Garden and Ravioli Worth Flying Back For September 14, 2026Exceptional Hotels, RomeOff

PALAZZO TALÌA, ROME: THE KIND OF HOTEL YOU ALMOST DON’T WANT TO SHARE

A former Roman college, a secret garden, a secret Mermaid Spa – and ravioli good enough to compromise my journalistic integrity.

Rome is very good at beauty. Almost annoyingly so. Which means opening another beautiful hotel here is not enough. It needs character.

Palazzo Talìa has plenty.

Hidden in the historic centre, just a few minutes from the Trevi Fountain and Piazza di Spagna, the 16th-century palazzo was once home to the historic Collegio Nazareno, one of Europe’s prestigious colleges. After closing its doors as a school in 1999, the building was eventually brought back to life by the Roman Federici family, reopening as Palazzo Talìa in 2024. The restoration doesn’t try to erase the building’s past. Frescoes, old marble and historic architecture meet rich colours and contemporary Italian design, with the monumental spaces imagined by Studio Luca Guadagnino.

And then there is the elevator.

Mirrored, wonderfully Art Deco in spirit and complete with a little seat inside, it is absurdly glamorous. I became slightly obsessed with it, which probably says more about me than the hotel. Naturally, I photographed it. Several times. Outside, the palm-filled courtyard is an oasis in the middle of Rome – the kind of place where an espresso accidentally becomes lunch, lunch becomes an aperitivo, and suddenly the museum reservation you made weeks ago feels considerably less urgent.

Downstairs is the spa. Small, intimate and atmospheric, with a beautiful pool that made me rename the entire place the Mermaid Spa approximately five minutes after arriving.

This is not its official name. I have decided that doesn’t matter.

COME FOR THE PALAZZO. STAY FOR THE RAVIOLI.

The biggest surprise, however, was Tramae, the hotel’s restaurant, where we met Chef Marco Coppola.

The oysters arrived first: pristine, cold, beautifully saline and, in my opinion, serious contenders for the best oysters in Rome. A dangerous discovery for someone who already considers oysters an acceptable food group.

Then came the ravioli with vongole.

As a journalist, this is normally the moment to take notes, analyse textures and ask intelligent questions. We did none of those things.

We took one bite, looked at each other and stopped talking.

The best ravioli with vongole we have ever eaten!

There goes the journalistic neutrality.

AND THEN THERE WAS MARCO COPPOLA

We had the pleasure of meeting Chef Marco Coppola, and suddenly the food made even more sense. Warm, passionate and completely connected to what comes out of his kitchen, Marco is one of those chefs you remember as much for the person as for the plate.

There is no unnecessary theatre around his cooking. The ingredients remain recognizable, the Mediterranean is never far away, and everything feels generous, precise and instinctive.

After meeting him, we understood why those ravioli were so good.

Although, Marco, if you are reading this: you have created a problem. We now expect all ravioli to taste like yours.

Some chefs give you a great dinner. Marco Coppola gave us a reason to come back to Rome.

A BAR WORTH BEING LATE FOR

And then there is the bar – another room that makes you reconsider your plans for the evening.

Rich colours, beautiful materials and a wonderfully cinematic atmosphere make it feel somewhere between a private Roman salon and the bar of a film you wish you were in. It is glamorous without being stiff, with exactly the right amount of decadence.

The cocktails are equally considered: beautifully made, inventive and, dangerously, very easy to order twice.

We originally stopped for one before dinner.

You can probably guess how that went.

At Palazzo Talìa, even the aperitivo has a way of becoming an event.

But perhaps that explains Palazzo Talìa better than a long list of amenities ever could. You remember it through details: the palms, the frescoes, the Mermaid Spa, that wonderfully unnecessary little elevator seat, an oyster served exactly as it should be and a plate of ravioli you are still discussing after leaving Rome.

There are grander hotels. Louder hotels. And certainly hotels whose elevators I have thought about considerably less.

But Palazzo Talìa has that rare thing no renovation budget can guarantee: personality.

I came home with hundreds of photographs, an unreasonable attachment to a spa and a new problem.

Every ravioli now has to compete with Rome.

Palazzo Talìa
Largo del Nazareno 25
00187 Rome, Italy
+39 06 692521

info@palazzotalia.com
Reservations: reservations@palazzotalia.com
Spa: spa@palazzotalia.com

palazzotalia.com

photocredits: WHAT WE ADORE