A New Hotel Perched in the Hills of Florence

New York Times

20-02-2025

A Tuscan Hotel in a 16th-Century Former College
When the Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi completed the soaring cupola of the Duomo in Florence, Italy, in 1436, it was a feat of engineering that reshaped the city's skyline. (It's still the largest brick dome in existence.) From the surrounding hills, its red-tinged peak appears to hover above a sea of terra-cotta rooftops. Guests of Collegio alla Querce, the first Auberge Resorts Collection hotel in Italy, will have that vantage point from a 16th-century former college perched on the cusp of the Tuscan countryside. Designed in collaboration with the Florence-based studio ArchFlorence, the interiors pay homage to both the building's scholastic past and its idyllic rural surroundings. The hotel's restaurant, La Gamella — a refined trattoria named after the tin lunchboxes once carried by Florentine schoolchildren — occupies the college's former dining hall, which in the 16th century was an open-air citrus garden. For aperitivi and nightcaps, there's Bar Bertelli, dedicated to a former science teacher whose instruments are still on-site. In some guest rooms and suites not already adorned with original frescoes, walls were painted with sweeping landscapes, their hazy greens and ecrus a nod to the bucolic murals of Pompeian villas. Kemper Hyers, the creative director for Auberge Resort Collections, commissioned custom furniture for the 83 rooms and suites from Milan's Paolo Castelli along with earth-toned ceramics by Studio Ceramico Giusti, which he discovered at the weekly market in Piazza Santo Spirito, just a short walk down the hill. Collegio alla Querce opens March 2. From about $1,600 a night, aubergeresorts.com.
Celebrating the Artistry of Leigh Bowery at London's Tate Modern
The performance artist Leigh Bowery packed a lot into his brief life before he died in 1994 from complications related to AIDS at age 33: he was a fashion designer, an art director for music videos, the frontman of a transgressive pop band called Minty and a model for the painter Lucian Freud. He resisted easy categorization, once remarking, 'If you label me, you negate me.' Born in a sleepy suburb in Melbourne, Australia, Bowery moved to London in 1980 at 19 and proceeded to reinvent himself on the underground queer club circuit, particularly at Taboo, the renowned nightclub he founded. Using an array of bedazzled masks, bondage gear, wigs and sky-high platforms that further elevated his 6-foot-3 frame, he pushed the limits of transformation — and the norms of the time — through clothing and makeup. Thirty years after his death, his influence can be seen everywhere from the anarchic aesthetics of designers like Rick Owens and Charles Jeffrey to the subversive costumes worn by Lady Gaga. This month, a new retrospective opens at the Tate Modern in London. In a series of themed rooms — home, the club, the stage and the gallery — the show explores Bowery's art, life and legacy through paintings, photographs, films and interviews with many of his collaborators, including the artist Cerith Wyn Evans, the drag queen Lady Bunny, the DJ Princess Julia and the musician Boy George. 'Leigh Bowery!' will be on view at Tate Modern, London, from Feb. 27 through Aug. 31, tate.org.uk.
Berlin's 112-Year-Old Clärchens Ballhaus Gets a Refresh
Berlin's Clärchens Ballhaus was built in 1913, at a time when the city had over 900 ballrooms. Now it's one of the few left, and over the decades it has remained a beloved institution, hosting tango lessons every week in its landmark Hall of Mirrors. But it was underused and in disrepair, says the Berlin-born entrepreneur Yoram Roth: 'The main ballroom only had one power outlet, and it was heated by two coal ovens.' In 2018, Roth — who also owns Fotografiska, a group of contemporary photography museums, and the NeueHouse co-working spaces in New York and L.A. — bought Clärchens and began planning a renovation. 'Berliners never want anything to change,' he says. 'I knew I had to completely redo the infrastructure but still make sure it looked like it did 112 years ago.' He kept the tango lessons (along with other types of dance instruction) and hired Uli Hanisch, the set designer for the neo-noir TV series 'Babylon Berlin,' who carefully enhanced Clärchens' faded '20s aesthetic. Roth then brought on the German chef Tobias Beck to open the party-friendly restaurant Luna D'Oro, named after one of the Ballhaus's dance teachers. 'Tobias understands German cuisine but has a sense of humor about it,' says Roth, who recommends the Tartar Igel, a classic beef tartare in the shape of a hedgehog with spines made from thin slivers of onion. claerchensball.haus.
Skin Care That Draws on the Benefits of Rice
One of the first beauty tips my mother shared with me was that I should wash my face with rice water, the milky liquid left behind after rinsing grains before cooking. She swore by its brightening and softening effects and, all these years later, I do too. Rice has long been revered in skin care, a tradition reflected in the luxury hotel group Aman's Essential Skin range. The six-product collection incorporates ancient purple rice bran extract, celebrated for its antioxidant properties and collagen-boosting abilities, alongside indigo extract, a botanical once favored by samurai for its healing benefits. My go-to is the Illuminating Eye Cream, infused with rice ferment and peptides, which brightens and revitalizes the under-eye area. Damdam Tokyo, which was founded by Giselle Go and Philippe Terrien in 2019, showcases rice along with other Japanese ingredients such as shiso and konnyaku, a Japanese root crop used for detoxification. The company's Silk Rice Cleansing Oil, which removes makeup and dirt, features Japanese komenuka, a glutinous rice with anti-inflammatory properties. The Tokyo-based beauty brand Tatcha's Dewy Skin Cream, newly available in refillable jars, pairs Japanese purple rice with botanical extracts that attract moisture to plump and hydrate. The Korean beauty brand House of Dohwa's signature ingredient is domestically harvested rice from the city of Icheon. The Seoul-based company makes a Rice Bran Sheet Mask that also contains Houttuynia cordata (a flowering plant) and Korean mugwort extract, both of which soothe the skin. Other K-Beauty products, which I've discovered on Soko Glam, an online retailer specializing in Korean skin care, are the I'm From Rice Toner, which helps eliminate dead skin, and COSRX's Ultimate Nourishing Rice Overnight Spa Mask that's meant to be used as the last step of your routine.
New Restaurants to Know in the Berkshires
There's a new crop of restaurants in the Berkshires, the art-filled Massachusetts hill country that's an easy weekend trip from both New York City and Boston. In a region where farm-to-table fare is expected, Cantina, which opened in October in New Marlborough, does one better. Its owner, Peter Chapin, also owns nearby Mill River Farm, and the team grow or raise much of what's used in the globally inspired cuisine — down to the eggs for the fennel ice cream on the menu one recent night. The mood at No Comply, in Great Barrington, is casual and playful (it's named for a skateboarding trick), but chef-owner Stephen Browning's skills are serious. Its ever-changing menu is veg-forward, with dishes such as roasted Japanese sweet potato with labneh, chili crisp and tahini. The restaurant is alcohol-free, but the turmeric tonic, tamarind cooler and strawberry milk go down nicely. After buying the historic Apple Tree Inn in the nearby town of Lenox, Claire Collery partnered with the Israeli chef Hagai Avrahami and his wife, creative director Adi Talby, on the brunch restaurant Baladi, where shakshuka and other Mediterranean-influenced dishes are accompanied by a view of the surrounding hills. In South Egremont, you might find Hy's Fried owner Jack Luber spinning vinyl after tables have been moved to make room for dancing. With the feel of a vintage roadside joint, Hy's has red vinyl booths, creative cocktails and a tight menu revolving around fried chicken that's meant to be tossed with a homemade honey sambal.
A Villa on Ibiza With Endless Mediterranean Views
Highstay, the Paris-based company offering short-stay, fully serviced pieds à terre in dead-center locations like the First Arrondissement and the Marais, is heading to the beach this spring with its first two villas. On Ibiza's craggy southwest coast, close to the whitewashed village of Es Cubells, Villa Infinity is a conversion of a traditional stone finca by Athens's K-Studio, which designed the beach club Scorpios in Mykonos. Architectural details such as pivoting chestnut-wood doors and a spiral stone-and-oak staircase serve as decorative pieces in the villa, which sleeps 14. The primary bedroom has a roof terrace and an en suite bathroom with Mediterranean views from the free-standing tub. Outside are an infinity pool, a second kitchen and an outdoor gym with a plunge pool. All meals are cooked by a private chef, while Highstay's concierge can organize everything from guided meditation and Pilates sessions to yacht charters. Highstay is also venturing into the French Riviera with the art-filled Villa Coachella, which comes with a cinema and its own private spa, complete with a hammam and hot tub. Rates from about $51,670 for a week's stay at Villa Infinity; $72,330 for a week's stay at Villa Coachella, highstay.com.