Rome’s recent past can be just as enthralling as its ancient history; this early 20th-century villa is a stunning example. Nestled in a residential street, across the Tiber from Piazza Popolo, the 1911 gem was re-imagined as a bijou hotel by Anna Fendi Venturini in 2007, a ‘retirement project’, taken up after handing over the reigns of the Fendi firm to her daughter. There’s a wonderful synthesis of rationalist rigour, Liberty grace and effervescent Roman glamour at work, each room a mini-museum of exquisite 20th-century furniture, photographs and Fendi accessories. Plus the location ensures you get to feel as if you’re a local, while being a meander away from anywhere you’d care to go. www.villalaetitia.com
