A seventeenth-century palazzo on Via del Babuino, one of the three streets radiating from Piazza del Popolo in Rome's ancient trident plan, gives The First Roma Arte its architectural bones — a rusticated travertine facade, ornate arched entrance portal, and wrought-iron window grilles that centuries of Roman street life have done nothing to diminish. The conversion leaned into contemporary art as its organizing principle rather than defaulting to period grandeur, with the 29 rooms and suites treated as gallery spaces furnished for sleeping rather than the reverse. Inside, the interiors hold that tension between old shell and new sensibility with reasonable confidence. Walls in warm taupe set off cobalt velvet sofas, navy silk curtains, and built-in bookshelves that give the rooms the atmosphere of a well-edited private library. Artworks — circular tondo compositions mounted on vivid orange grounds, large-scale painterly canvases in deep green — punctuate every surface without tipping into the formulaic hotel-art mode. The rooftop restaurant opens the property's best card: a retractable pergola structure framing an unobstructed panorama across Rome's cupolas and umbrella pines toward the Pincian Hill, furnished with cream leather armchairs and dark marble-topped tables. The ground-floor dining room takes a quieter approach, oak floors and a dramatic illuminated wine wall visible through a glass partition doing the atmospheric heavy lifting.

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Award-winning 5-star boutique hotel located in the heart of Rome’s historic centre, just a five-minute walk from the Spanish Steps. Housed within a historic 19th-century building, the property has been completely renovated while preserving its original architecture, and redesigned with elegant furnishings, refined colour palettes, and natural materials. The First Arte is home to a permanent contemporary art exhibition and features 26 elegant rooms and suites. The hotel also boasts one of Rome’s most exclusive panoramic terrace, Acquaroof, as well as the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Acquolina, renowned for its innovative seafood cuisine.