Savoy Hotel Rome

Book review: Death and the Dolce Vita: The Dark Side of Rome in the 1950s

How did Wilma Montesi die? An investigation, by turns sensational and shocking, was to run for five years and engulf Italy in one of the biggest scandals of the post-war era. It forced the resignation of the country's foreign minister. And it turned the most searching gaze on senior figures in the government, on dubious business interests, the police, the Press and, most unsparing of all, Rome's rich and powerful playboy set. No less vividly, it was to expose, in one prolonged blinding flash, a city and a country in the throes of a social revolution. The militarised Rome of Mussolini's Fascist Italy had given way to an uneasy, fractious return to democracy. The scandal was to centre on a particularly tumultuous aspect of Roman life, one of glamour and excess, poverty and desperate aspiration, secretive and attention-hungry by turns. Here in the cauldron of post-war Rome fame was seen as the one accessible ladder out of poverty. Thousands clung to it in the hope that some of the stardust of the Hollywood film and fashion icons and the smart set would rub off on them. The result was a pushing, shoving assemblage of wannabes, Bohemians, sexpots, drug pushers, pimps, prostitutes and the hotly curious entourage of hangers-on and misfits crowding the bars and cafes of the Via Veneto. This was no dark underworld but one caught in a near-continuous flash of camera bulbs – the invasive throng of another exotic and invasive species the world would come to know as the paparazzi. Here was its spawning ground, the origin of the species of some of the most extreme – and extremely tawdry – exponents of red-top photo-journalism. The death of Wilma Montesi did not cause or catalyse this playboy Rome. But what it did, in the extraordinary trials and investigations that followed the discovery of her body, was illuminate a social set and a city in the most searing light. And that beam was to stretch from the beach at Ostia to that moment years later when Anita Ekberg stepped into the Trevi fountain: the iconic moment brilliantly captured by Federico Fellini and which the world came to know as La Dolce Vita. In Death and the Dolce Vita, it is the singular achievement of historian Stephen Gundle to backlight an engrossing whodunit with the tumultuous social and political changes gripping Rome at this time. It is the unfolding of an intense, claustrophic narrative of murder, mystery and scandal worthy of a Verdi opera.

Savoy Hotel Rome - Rome Hotel Accommodation

The magnificent Savoy Hotel, Rome is just a few steps away from the ultimate Via Veneto area in the heart of Rome, Italy. This wonderful hotel is located next to the lavish park of Villa Borghese in the romantic area of Piazza di Spagna and the enchanting mystic of Fontana di Trevi. Savoy Rome is one of the best Rome hotels for accommodation and it offers easy access to many of the city’s far reaching sites, due to the efficient public transport system which the hotel offers.

The nearest train station is just 200 yards from the hotel, where you can hop aboard the train to the San Pietro Bascilica, the Vatican Museum, Colosseum or the Roman Forum, within a few minutes. This private residence was converted into a hotel in 1920 and preserves its genuine 1920s style. Once you enter the Savoy Hotel , you are greeted by the hotels courteous and trained staff in the spacious lobby completed with glass chandeliers and marble floors.

Being a grand four star hotel, the Savoy Hotel, Rome attracts a wide range of guest. This may be due to its impressive and spacious rooms with the comfy beds. All so called the secret jewel for smart travelers, Savoy Hotel offers all travelers a sophisticated environment, with four star services and amenities for you to take advantage of. Apart from the hotel accommodation in Rome, the hotel features a fantastic restaurant, a well stocked bar, and the terraces will give you lovely and panoramic view of the entire city.

Check out the American Bar at the hotel with its art-deco style Café and the Sistina Restaurant which serves tasty Mediterranean dishes and offers a wide selection of traditional Italian wines. You will also be able to enjoy a glass of wine at the beautiful rooftop bar, or you can just admire the marvelous views across the city. This Rome hotel is also a great place for business travelers to stay, since it has several fully equipped meeting and conference rooms with the most stylish and functional facilities.

What’s more the Savoy Hotel’s superb location puts it just a few minutes away from the Spanish Steps as well as some of the most famous Italian Fashion shopping districts. So come and enjoy all the charm of Rome in the authentic and splendid 19th century palace of the Savoy Hotel .

The Economist

In December, 1902, Mr Robert Vigers valued the Savoy Hotel, Claridge's Hotel, the Berkeley Hotel, and the Grand Hotel, Rome, including contents. ...

Cook's tourist's handbook for southern Italy, Rome, and Sicily

(Greece)— Grand New Hotel and Hotel de Chemin de Fer de Pelopo- nessus (during February, March, April, and May) Port Said— Savoy Hotel Prinkipo (near ...

The Statist, a journal of practical finance and trade

... on its Grand Hotel, Home, and bearing the guarantee of the Savoy Hotel, ... joint net earnings of the Savoy Hotel and the Grand Hotel at Rome as £64666, ...

The works of George Santayana, The letters of George Santayana, book 6, 1937-1940

I am leaving Rome about June IS* for the Hotel Savoy Cortina d'Ampezzo. Italy Yours sincerely GSantayana To Nancy Saunders Toy 24 May 1937 • Rome, ...

The Letters of George Santayana, Book Five, 1933-1936, The Works of George Santayana, Volume V, Book Five

1936 (4 June- 11 August) Savoy-Hotel, rue de Rivoli, Paris (12 August-21 ... Switzerland 1936 (22 September)-1937 (14 June) Hotel Bristol, Rome 1937 ...