Last August, Sofia Coppola and Thomas Mars celebrated their wedding at her father Francis Ford Coppola's villa in the town of Bernalda, Basilicata. About 40km south of Matera and 15 minutes' drive from the coast, Bernalda is where FFC's grandfather Agostino was born.
The film director bought the 19th-century Palazzo Margherita in 2004, and as with Blancaneaux Lodge, the family retreat he bought in Belize in 1981, he is turning it into a hotel - the sixth in his portfolio of small, understated yet exquisite properties (www.coppolaresorts.com), and the first in Europe.
It has been designed by the doyen of
Parisian interior specialists Jacques Grange, who once likened his
own work to that of a film director ('I cut, I edit') and whose
previous projects have ranged from The Mark hotel in New York to
Yves Saint Laurent's Château Gabriel in Normandy. There are a dozen
bedrooms, each named after a member of the Coppola clan (the suite
named after FFC himself overlooks a walled garden) and decorated to
complement the opulence of the original frescoes. Given Coppola's
interest in wine, it's no surprise that there will also be a bar
and restaurant with their own entrance on the street. The hotel is
due to open at Easter.
Pictured: Basilicata
Pictured: Basilicata