Hotel Palazzo, Renaissance Revival palace in Livorno, Italy

Hotel Palazzo stands at the edge of Livorno's seaside promenade, beyond a monumental iron gate rebuilt in the 2008 restoration. Its neo-Renaissance facade has a central block and two slightly projecting wings, the wings opened by large serliane onto balconies and the centre by closely spaced round-arched openings. The 2008 work removed the covered terrace at the entrance and rebuilt the roof, highlighting the small towers at the top. Inside are 123 rooms, seven suites and a royal suite, 235 beds, two pools, four restaurant rooms, five conference rooms and a spa.

The building was commissioned by Bernardo Fabbricotti and designed by Enrico Azzati, opening in 1884 as one of the first luxury hotels in Livorno. Its opening marked the beginning of a new era for the city as a destination for wealthy travelers.

The hotel has been a film set since Cuori sul mare (1950). In Luigi Comencini's Senza sapere niente di lei (1969) it is the hotel where Philippe Leroy's lawyer Brà stays; in 1972 it stood in for Venice in Giorni d'amore sul filo di una lama. Lino Banfi shot scenes here in the early 1980s, and in 2003, still under restoration, it played a hospital in 13dici a tavola.

The complex sits conveniently on the coast and offers easy access to the seaside promenade and views of the Tuscan Archipelago. Visitors should note that the location by the water can be windy at times due to the property's position and size.

The small towers on the roof served as a laboratory for Guglielmo Marconi in the late 1800s, where he conducted groundbreaking telegraph experiments. This location was thus an early setting for a technological revolution.