The fresco by Simon Buret at Nolinski’s bar-library

‘Here sea urchins are stars’: an art collection displays Venetian history at hotel Nolinski

The design duo Lecoadic-Scotto for the restoration of the 1929 liberty-style complex of four buildings that once housed the Chamber of Commerce: Nolinski hotel heads in Venice

Nolinski: A June 2023 New Opening in the Venice Fashion District

St. Mark’s Square is the heart of Venice, hosting the eponymous Basilica and the Doge’s Palace, the monuments that attract thousands of tourists to the center of the Serenissima every year. Walking along Calle Larga XXII Marzo from San Marco Square, boutiques attract those interested in shopping, with high-end brands like Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Tod’s, Gucci, Prada, Ferragamo. On the street that many call today the Venice’s ‘Montenapoleone’, a new luxury-hospitality facility opened its doors in June 2023: Nolinski Venice.

The five-star hotel, part of the French group Evok Collection, represents the second opening for Nolinski – already based in Paris – and the first one outside France. The expansion is already moving forward, with inaugurations planned in the next few years in Rome and Madrid.

A six-year renovation process resulted in the creation of forty-three rooms, including thirteen suites, distributed over six floors of the four palaces that, until about a decade ago, constituted what was the chamber of commerce of the city.

St. Mark and Calle Larga XXII Marzo: The Venetian Area That Hosts Nolinski

Venice is a unique place in the world, and within it, it’s as if multiple Venetias existed. The Venice of the Arsenale area, where the Biennale is held, gets visitors lost in its alleys that tell the story of a port city and center of trade. The area of Cannareggio tells a rural and urban story, with the ancient Jewish ghetto as its epicenter. St. Mark’s Venice is grand. It is indeed the imagery that attracts tourists from all over the world.

Nolinski has chosen to bring together all the features that visitors may look for when they choose to visit and stay in the center of the city of Venice and breathe its history, ensuring themselves the comforts of a five-star facility. The guest arrives on foot from St. Mark’s Square, passes by the boutiques, is greeted by a silent palace that keeps the swarming of the city outside, and in the evening can discover the more hidden alleys around, the small canals, and get to La Fenice Theater.

Nolinski Venice: A Conservative Restoration That Retained Part of the Original 20th-Century Design Elements

The six floors of the four buildings that made up the chamber of commerce at the time of its acquisition by the hospitality group still present the original structure. On the ground floor is the entrance with Caffè Nolinski, open for lunch and dinner. The reception and concierge desk are located on the third floor, next to the bar-library, the breakfast hall, and the SPA-room for treatments.

The rooms are scattered all the way to the top floor, where the large Ottoman-inspired, golden mosaic, hydro massage pool with panoramic views of the city is located.

Externally, the structure’s facade, dating from 1929, shows Art Nouveau architecture by architect Umberto Bellotto. The French-Italian interior design duo Lecoadic-Scotto handled the restoration. The desire was to preserve a number of original elements of Venetian craftsmen: the marble stucco, the wrought iron works typical of the Art Nouveau style, including the grand staircase with its elaborate railing.

The terrace is also original, as are the door and window frames, which have been restored, the marbles and balustrades of the Palais Royale restaurant, and some of the lighting elements (sconces and lamps), up to the wooden and wrought-iron linen closets, still used today for their purpose.

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Nolinski Venice: Preserving the Venetian Tradition and Conveying a Home-Feeling

The choice to keep closets used for their original purpose as laundry racks tells a mission, that of the hotel to convey all the comfort of a home. In addition, within each room, the choice was made to place a selection of alcoholic beverages for free use by guests, with an ice bucket found each night for a moment of relaxation. The rooms, although homogeneous in the choice of furniture, do not appear aseptic because of the number of appliances available. Exploring the drawers, one can even find a drawing kit, to write letters.

A broad selection of books by Anatole Desachy is present in every room, together with Murano glassware from AVEM. The AVEM company was founded in Murano in 1910. Numerous objects from AVEM’s historic collection have found their way to the Nolinski in Venice. A collection was also created for the hotel by Mariapia Bellise as a tribute to the building’s marine-inspired Art Nouveau decorations. The glassmaker Andrea Salvagno then forged them for Avem, and they were crafted by Giacomo Barbini, one of the heirs to the ancient technique of grinding Murano glass.

The finish of this technique is especially visible in the crafted glasses made for the Palais Royal restaurant.

The Culinary Experience at Nolinski Venice: Bars and Restaurants

Breakfast at Nolinski Venice is served in the amphitheater-like space of what was formerly the Council Chamber. The atmosphere is formal, with an à la carte menu and dessert counter, and restaurant-like service. Byzantine-style arches follow one another; in the center is a glass chandelier from the 1950s, made by Casa Barovier in Murano. Breakfast, in silver service, cannot fail to recall French cuisine with its intense, spicy flavors.

Caffè Nolinski, with a more casual atmosphere, is located on the ground floor, in an intimate space that also includes an inner courtyard, inspired by the Venetian Portego. The à la carte menu offers fresh Mediterranean cuisine with local Italian products. Cicchetti can be ordered as starters, followed by fish tartare with tomato and spring onions or a taste of vitello tonnato. To continue, a plate of pasta with clams or vegetables or a main course of fish or a cut of meat with arugula, parmesan shavings, and cherry tomatoes. Finally, the meal can end with a bowl of strawberries with ice cream and whipped cream.

The Palais Royale restaurant, headed by two-Michelin-starred chef Philip Chronopulos – also chef at Palais Royale Paris – will be inaugurated in January 2024 for a formal dining experience.

‘Here Sea Urchins Are Stars’: A Fresco by Simon Buret at Nolinski’s Bar-Library

Like an extension of the reception area, the Nolinski Bar is enclosed in an intimate atmosphere, surrounded by shelves filled with books. A piano, red curtains, and velvets surround the counter. The library is intended as a tribute to the art of typography that originated in Venice and includes four thousand volumes, for the project designed by Jérémy Bacquet.

On the ceiling, illuminated in the half-light, is the fresco created by Simon Buret on site during the pre-opening of the hotel. An octopus, a mermaid, fish, shells, and sea urchins that look like stars in the sky.

Past the curtains is the Royal restaurant and, continuing beyond, the massage room, which uses the La Colline line, taking over the treatments in Paris.

The art collection at Nolinski Venice: where tradition meets contemporaneity

Amélie du Chalard, gallery owner and since 2018 art director for the Evok Group, was responsible for the selection of art objects that feature Nolinski Venice. «The idea was to create an art collection like that of an aesthete traveler who would bring with him objects from all over the world and from all eras» states du Chalard. At Nolinski, objets d’époque meet contemporary pieces in a collection of over two-hundred elements.

At the entrance of the hotel, two Sixteenth-Century lions pose to welcome visitors. They are followed by a canvas by Bruno Dufourmantelle, with a landscape reminiscent of a Venice shrouded in winter fog. Contrasting this is a blown glasswork covered in gold leaf created by Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert that illuminates the atrium. A ceramic bas-relief custom-made for Nolinski Venice by Brazilian artist Valeria Nascimento recalls water. And, at the Bar, the fresco by Simon Buret.

In the suites, contemporary objects are juxtaposed with Renaissance portraits, recreating the wunderkammer of a traveler.

Nolinski, Venice

The hotel, part of the Evok Collection group and the second Nolinski property after the one in Paris, inaugurated in June 2023. The building is located on Calle Larga XXII Marzo, the Venetian Montenapoleone, a short walk from St. Mark Square and La Fenice theater. The restoration of its four component buildings took 6 years to restore the space formerly used by the chamber of commerce.

The facility now offers all the services of a 5-star hotel. Spread over 6 floors, it includes 43 rooms (13 suites), a massage room, a rooftop pool with a panoramic city view. In addition to the bar-library, two dining spaces are open, the Caffè Nolinski and the Palais Royal formal restaurant that will open in January 2024 under the direction of the two-Michelin-starred chef Philip Chronopulos.

The group’s first hotel outside Italy, will be followed by two new openings in Rome and Madrid.