Botteghe Oscure building reopens as the Thompson Rome, a luxury hotel run by US group Hyatt.The former headquarters of Italy’s Communist Party (PCI) in the heart of Rome has opened its doors as a five-star hotel.The building at Via delle Botteghe Oscure 4, known as the “Bottegone”, was for decades one of the main centres of Italian politics. It is now the newly-opened Thompson Rome. The 8,000-sqm building, a short walk from Piazza Venezia, has 69 rooms, restaurants and bars, and a rooftop terrace overlooking the city. Rooms cost around €500 a night, according to newspaper Corriere della Sera, while the royal suite, not yet open to the public, is expected to cost up to €3,000 or €4,000 a night. A brief history The building was bought in 1946 by PCI leader Palmiro Togliatti for 30 million lire. In 1991, the Italian Communist Party dissolved, giving rise to the Partito Democratico della Sinistra (PDS), which continued to occupy the building. The premises subsequently remained with the Democratici di Sinistra (DS) - a party founded in 1998 - until 2000, when the organisation decided to relocate, partly to reduce debts, news outlet Fanpage reports. It was bought by the Angelucci family’s Tosinvest group, which publishes the right-leaning newspapers Libero, Il Tempo and Il Giornale. Political past Parts of the building’s political past have been kept. The monumental entrance retains a sculptured wall and inlaid floor by artist Giò Pomodoro, uncovered during the renovation and protected by the heritage authorities. A bust of the party's co-founder Antonio Gramsci greets guests in the hall, and one of the party’s safes is still on the third floor. The hotel’s art collection includes works by artists linked to the Scuola Romana and the Scuola di Piazza del Popolo, among them Francesco Del Drago, Giangaetano Patanè and Guido Strazza. Room 207 is the one most associated with the party’s history. It was once the office of general secretary Enrico Berlinguer, and its balcony is where he greeted crowds after the PCI won 34.4 per cent of the vote in the June 1976 general election, as Corriere della Sera reports. The restaurant Lyve, run by chef Fioravanti, occupies what was once the room where the party leadership met. The conversion has drawn mixed reactions on the left. Gianni Cuperlo, of the Partito Democratico (PD), told the Corriere that he would have preferred to see the building transformed into a museum dedicated to the history of the Italian Left. After visiting it, Walter Veltroni, former secretary of the DS, said he no longer recognised the rooms where he had worked, including the secretaries' offices and the old management room. Photo credit: Thompson Hyatt, photo Eller Studio

The former headquarters of Italy’s Communist Party (PCI) in the heart of Rome has opened its doors as a five-star hotel. The building at Via delle Botteghe Oscure 4, known as the “Bottegone”, was for decades one of the main centres of Italian politics. It is now the newly-opened Thompson Rome. The 8,000-sqm building, a short walk from Piazza Venezia, has 69 rooms, restaurants and bars, and a rooftop terrace overlooking the city. Rooms cost around €500 a night, according to newspaper Corriere della Sera, while the royal suite, not yet open to the public, is expected to cost up to €3,000 or €4,000 a night. The building was bought in 1946 by PCI leader Palmiro Togliatti for 30 million lire. In 1991, the Italian Communist Party dissolved, giving rise to the Partito Democratico della Sinistra (PDS), which continued to occupy the building. The premises subsequently remained with the Democratici di Sinistra (DS) - a party founded in 1998 - until 2000, when the organisation decided to relocate, partly to reduce debts, news outlet Fanpage reports. It was bought by the Angelucci family’s Tosinvest group, which publishes the right-leaning newspapers Libero, Il Tempo and Il Giornale. Parts of the building’s political past have been kept. The monumental entrance retains a sculptured wall and inlaid floor by artist Giò Pomodoro, uncovered during the renovation and protected by the heritage authorities. A bust of the party's co-founder Antonio Gramsci greets guests in the hall, and one of the party’s safes is still on the third floor. The hotel’s art collection includes works by artists linked to the Scuola Romana and the Scuola di Piazza del Popolo, among them Francesco Del Drago, Giangaetano Patanè and Guido Strazza. Room 207 is the one most associated with the party’s history. It was once the office of general secretary Enrico Berlinguer, and its balcony is where he greeted crowds after the PCI won 34.4 per cent of the vote in the June 1976 general election, as Corriere della Sera reports. The restaurant Lyve, run by chef Fioravanti, occupies what was once the room where the party leadership met. The conversion has drawn mixed reactions on the left. Gianni Cuperlo, of the Partito Democratico (PD), told the Corriere that he would have preferred to see the building transformed into a museum dedicated to the history of the Italian Left. After visiting it, Walter Veltroni, former secretary of the DS, said he no longer recognised the rooms where he had worked, including the secretaries' offices and the old management room. Photo credit: Thompson Hyatt, photo Eller Studio