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Rome’s hotel scene is set for another luxury arrival. Coldwell Banker Commercial | Realty Advisory has been chosen to find an operator for Palazzo Gentili Del Drago Boccapaduli in the Trevi district.

The owner wants a leading hotel group to run the site. The target market is luxury or ultra-luxury. A branded residences concept may also form part of the plan.

The palazzo stands on Via in Arcione. It is close to the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and the Quirinal Palace. In hotel terms, that address needs little sales pitch.

Coldwell Banker says the building has about 5,200 square metres of floor space. It has six floors above ground, plus a basement, mezzanine and roof level. An early plan proposes 55 rooms and hotel facilities.

The building’s past is central to its appeal. It has links to the Boccapaduli, Gentili and Del Drago families. Cardinal Antonio Saverio Gentili led an 18th-century rebuild that helped shape the palazzo as it stands today. Rome historical records also document the property’s long association with those families and its later alterations around the construction of the Traforo Umberto I.

The property also played a role in Rome’s social life. Marchioness Margherita Sparapani Gentili Boccapaduli held a well-known salon there in the 18th century. It drew members of the city’s intellectual circles.

The business case is also strong. The Trevi–Corso area is now home to a growing group of luxury hotels.

Palazzo Gentili Del Drago Boccapaduli, a detached property of approximately 5,200 square meters on Via in Arcione, in the Trevi district, just steps from the Trevi Fountain and the Quirinale Palace.

Six Senses Rome already trades from nearby Palazzo Salviati Cesi Mellini, where the brand opened its first urban Italian hotel in 2023.

Palazzo Marini in Piazza San Silvestro is also being turned into a Four Seasons hotel. Recent financing documents describe that project as a five-star property with about 127 rooms, backed by a €280 million green-financing package.

That puts the new Trevi project in rather distinguished company.

Yet Palazzo Gentili Del Drago would be much smaller. That may be part of its charm. The proposed 55-room hotel can sell privacy, history and a prime Rome address rather than sheer size.

In a statement translated from Italian, Coldwell Banker chief executive Giuseppe Rojo said the palazzo offers “an intimate scale, an irreplaceable historic setting and a location within the urban fabric that no new development could replicate.”

He said Coldwell Banker’s role is to identify the operator that can unlock the property’s full potential through a structured selection process.

Coldwell Banker is also helping choose an operator for a planned five-star hotel at Via Sicilia 57 in Rome. The Rome Hotel Development Fund, managed by Castello SGR, acquired that site for conversion to hotel use earlier this year.

For travel advisers, this remains a project to watch. No hotel brand has been named yet. The 55-room plan is also still at an early stage.

Yet the appeal is plain. Rome has no shortage of history, but prime palazzi are finite. For global hotel groups, that makes this one worth watching.