Inside Venice’s Art Hotels: Featuring Works by Max Farina
In the realm of high-end hospitality, the modern luxury hotel experience is increasingly enriched by artistic and sensory dimensions. Among these, contemporary art has emerged as a key player, transforming many upscale properties into living galleries. Today’s art hotels are more than stylish accommodations—they are curated environments that appeal to culturally curious travelers seeking not just comfort, but also beauty, emotion, and inspiration.
Art and Hospitality: A Growing Symbiosis
An art hotel isn’t simply a place adorned with paintings—it’s an immersive space where art is woven into the architectural concept and the identity of the structure. Here, artworks are not decorative accessories, but integral components of a coherent visual narrative that follows the guest from the lobby to their suite, through lounges, restaurants, and exhibition areas.
This approach is gaining global traction. From the Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria—home to Tiepolo frescoes and Andy Warhol prints—to Zurich’s Dolder Grand Hotel, which boasts over a hundred pieces including works by Dalí and Henry Moore, luxury hotels are becoming cultural destinations in their own right.
Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel
The monumental staircase of the Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel
The Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich, lobby
Venice: A City Where Art and Hotels Share the Spotlight
Among the world’s cities where art and luxury hospitality find perfect harmony, Venice holds a unique position. Long celebrated as a cultural crossroad and icon of beauty, the Serenissima is now also home to some of Europe’s most spectacular art hotels.
Venice Venice Hotel
This visionary hotel acts as a cultural manifesto. It features works by Francesco Simeti, Fabio Viale, Igor Mitoraj, and Renato D’Agostin, alongside an entire section dedicated to Visual Poetry and Arte Povera, with pieces by Beuys, Chiari, Kounellis, and Boetti. Every space is curated to provoke wonder and contemplation.
Fabio Viale, Pietà, at Venice Venice Hotel
St. Regis Venice
The St. Regis Venice
Overlooking the Grand Canal, this gem was reopened in 2019 after a meticulous renovation inspired by the architectural language of Carlo Scarpa. Today, it stands as a cultural hub, with site-specific installations and global collaborations with renowned artists such as Ai Weiwei, Julian Opie, Koen Vanmechelen, Olivier Masmonteil, and Esther Stocker. The result is an immersive experience where art and cityscape blend seamlessly.
Ca’ di Dio
A five-star property designed by Patricia Urquiola and located by the Arsenale, Ca’ di Dio harmonizes refined interiors with photographs and site-specific works embedded in its Renaissance architecture. It frequently collaborates with the Venice Biennale, reinforcing its role as a cultural hub in the heart of the Castello district.
Ca’ di Dio
The ballroom of Aman Venice, located on the piano nobile
of the property. Courtesy of Aman Venice.
Aman Venice
Set within a 16th-century palazzo facing the Grand Canal, Aman Venice offers an artistic journey: original frescoes and ancient sculptures coexist with contemporary installations selected in dialogue with their historic surroundings. During the Biennale, the hotel becomes a meeting point for international curators and collectors, seamlessly merging luxury and cultural experience.
Ca’ di Dio
A five-star property designed by Patricia Urquiola and located by the Arsenale, Ca’ di Dio harmonizes refined interiors with photographs and site-specific works embedded in its Renaissance architecture. It frequently collaborates with the Venice Biennale, reinforcing its role as a cultural hub in the heart of the Castello district.
Andrea Roggi, 'L’oro di Venissa'
When Hotels and Restaurants Become Art Galleries
Art has always sought new spaces—and today, hotels and restaurants are becoming sophisticated venues where luxury meets cultural storytelling.
Take Casa Cipriani in Milan. The “Arte a Casa” project features 29 artists, from Lucio Fontana to Letizia Battaglia, with works placed throughout the hallways, staircases, dining rooms, and corridors. Accompanied by artist talks and guided tours, the initiative blurs the line between hospitality and cultural foundation.
Lucio Fontana, Concetto spaziale, 1954
and Concetto spaziale, Attese, 1967. Courtesy: Tornabuoni Art. Image by Andrea Rossetti.
Man Ray, La mode au Congo, 1937-1980.
Courtesy: Giò Marconi. Image by Andrea Rossetti
At Palazzo Ripetta in Rome, a former 17th-century building, artworks by Pomodoro, Manzù, Ortiz, and Giacomo Triga integrate with modern design. In Sorrento, Maison La Minervetta becomes the collector’s home turned hotel, where Andy Warhol, Michelangelo Pistoletto, and Gaetano Pesce artworks meet sea views and collectible design. Its founder has recently opened La Casa di Maratea, an artistic retreat in southern Italy.
The Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte in Viareggio combines its historic soul with rooms dedicated to Guttuso and sculptures by Mitoraj and Giannelli. Meanwhile, Six Senses Rome, also designed by Patricia Urquiola, presents a curated selection of art by Federica Sala that reinterprets classical themes in contemporary light.
From Paris to New York: A Global Trend
From Mediterranean seaside villas to historic Roman palaces, from Parisian concept bars to visionary restaurants in Berlin and London, the art-hospitality trend is now global.
In New York, the Mr. C Seaport Bellini Restaurant by Cipriani stands as a prime example of “artistic luxury.” Designed by architect Thomas Juul-Hansen, this boutique hotel occupies a series of historic red-brick buildings. Interiors in rosewood, brass, and Carrara marble exude understated elegance.
But the visual centerpiece is a large photographic mural by Max Farina, a Milan-based visual artist. The piece captures the Venetian Grand Canal in a poetic, layered composition—bringing the spirit of Venice into the Manhattan skyline. Farina, known for his explorations of visual multiplicity and image layering, masterfully bridges European heritage and American modernity.
Max Farina, Rivus Altus artworks
at the Mr. C Seaport, Bellini Restaurant in New York
Max Farina’s Venice in Beverly Hills
This artistic conversation continues on the West Coast at the Mr. C Residences in Beverly Hills, a high-end residential project by the Cipriani family. With architecture by Ray Kappe and interiors by Marcello Pozzi, these luminous, glass-clad spaces are adorned with Farina’s photography.
His evocative images of Venice turn interior walls into contemplative landscapes, exploring light, reflection, and architectural form. These works go beyond decoration—they serve as a visual dialogue with Venice’s identity, suspended between nostalgia and modern vision. The integration of Farina’s work in both New York and Los Angeles underscores the Cipriani brand’s deep cultural roots.
Max Farina, Rivus Altus Artworks at the Mr. C Residences in Beverly Hills
A New Way to Live with Art
The inclusion of Max Farina’s art in the context of luxury hotels and residences marks a larger shift in high-end living. In this new paradigm, art is no longer a luxury add-on—it’s an essential part of how we inhabit space. Farina’s contemporary photography offers a fresh lens through which to experience an iconic city like Venice, even thousands of miles away.
In such settings, everything—from architecture to service—is part of a coherent aesthetic narrative. The artworks, often site-specific or part of exclusive collaborations, become a seamless extension of the property’s identity and philosophy.
Artists like Max Farina give shape to a refined, emotional, and culturally rich way of living, one where Venice, art, hotels, and luxury are part of a single, deeply human story.