PALAZZO DOGLIO

Palazzo Doglio’s history is based on a series of gambles. It is difficult to get an accurate date for when it was built, since many contemporary documents have been destroyed, but the best guess puts it around the late 1920s to early 1930s, when Cagliari’s historic centre was extended, having become congested, overcrowded and consequently unhygienic. The engineer, Silvio Doglio, was a member of the Piedmontese aristocracy, who arrived on the island in the wake of the Savoy family. He was a famous urban planner and, from 1933, commissioner of buildings in Sardinia. In Cagliari, he decided to expand the centre into a previously undeveloped area towards the sea.

Forte Village’s ownership of the Palazzo Doglio was also a bit of a gamble, based on the redevelopment of the entire area that has grown up around the Palazzo Doglio in the postwar period. Situated in Villanova, one of the four historic districts of Cagliari, the area has two large squares, the basilica of San Saturnino, the church of San Lucifero, and the Exma, which was formerly the city’s slaughterhouse and which has now become a centre for arts and culture. More than 34,000 square metres of land have been regenerated around this cultural centre, though development has been slow because of last year’s pandemic restrictions. Nevertheless, historic monuments have been restored, the area has been pedestrianised and repaved, new lighting has been installed and a public green constructed.

Everything obviously revolves around the Palazzo Doglio, a concept hotel so exclusive and full of charm

that it is has earned its rightful place in the Leading Hotels of the World and in the network of top Virtuoso structures, in addition to winning the award for Europe’s Leading Hotel 2020. It has 72 rooms — choose from Classic, Deluxe or Prestige — and eight Suites. A fully equipped spa with swimming pool and gym are just some of the facilities that Palazzo Doglio offers its international clientele.

But the real jewel in the hotel’s crown is its internal courtyard reminiscent of a traditional Italian square, with all the scents of a Mediterranean garden, plus exclusive retail outlets and high-end restaurants offering a gastronomic journey ranging from the Italian flavours of the Osteria del Forte and the Neapolitan pizzeria, through the cuisines of Brazil and Japan, which all together contributed to Cagliari being voted “City of the Year 2020” in the famous Il Gambero Rosso gastronomic guide.

With the gradual return to normality, and thanks to highprofile events such as the Night of Starred Chefs, the Cantine alla Corte wine festival, and classical music at the Corte, the “square” in the Palazzo Doglio has rightfully earned the accolade of the most fashionable location in Cagliari. Add to that the discovery of an ancient theatre in the building next to the Palazzo, where 1,000 seats are just waiting to be filled.

Thanks to Forte Village Group’s gamble, this complex can now be enjoyed by the whole city, not just the guests at the hotel and those who live in its 40 elegant private apartments, designed to the highest standards of comfort and convenience. In short, the dream that Silvio Doglio had 100 years ago has finally been realised. The original Art Nouveau friezes are once again bathed in light after years of neglect, the war, the partial restoration in the early 1990s — when the building housed the offices of the Prefecture and the Post Office — and the restrictions of the pandemic. And so the building and the entire area surrounding it is taking on a new lease of life as Doglio’s vision of more than a century ago is finally realised.

Find out more on the website www.palazzodoglio.com or call +3907064640