1895

The history of our hotel began back in 1895, when Mr Romanelli and his daughter purchased the old tavern “Siora Roma”, a beloved place for sailors, travellers and those who loved the most authentic Venice.

Among them was Enrico Zoppi, a charming sailor from Ancona, who was deeply struck by the beauty of the young Romanelli. Within a few months, that meeting became a love story: Enrico asked her to marry him, binding his destiny to that of the tavern.

1907

In 1907, Enrico Zoppi officially became the new owner of the tavern. Under his guidance, the place soon became one of the liveliest and best-known addresses in Venice: a place of joy, conviviality and encounters, frequented by artists, travellers and personalities who arrived in the city from all over the world.

1910 – The 1920s

As the years passed, the clientele became increasingly refined. Intellectuals, poets, musicians and men of culture began to frequent the tavern regularly, drawn by its free, elegant and deeply Venetian atmosphere.

It is said that one of Italy’s most celebrated poets, Gabriele D’Annunzio, renamed Zoppi’s tavern in 1910 with the name “Taverna La Fenice”: a name destined to become part of the city’s history and which still identifies one of the oldest restaurants in Venice today.

1925 – The 1930s

In the following years, more and more artists began asking Zoppi for accommodation near Teatro La Fenice, where they could rest after long rehearsals of singing, music and ballet.

And so Zoppi decided to transform his tavern into a true hotel-home for artists, with 25 rooms. His intuition proved to be a great success.

Among the most illustrious guests was Luigi Pirandello, the great Italian playwright, who chose to stay here for the entire 1926 theatre season.

1940 – The 1950s

The Second World War also struck Venice hard, turning it for a time into a silent, suspended city.

Dino and Bruno Zoppi, Enrico’s sons and by then successors to their elderly father, tried to carry on the family business, but the post-war years made everything extremely difficult. Reluctantly, they were forced to put the restaurant up for sale and send the hotel to auction.

1962 – The 1970s

The hotel’s rebirth came in 1962, with the arrival of the Facchini Family.

Thanks to their passion, dedication and deep sensitivity for art, the hotel gradually returned to what it had always been at heart: a home for art and artists in Venice.

Anacleto Facchini, father of the family and a great collector, enriched the halls and rooms with paintings, statues, art objects and unique pieces. The hotel thus took on the character that still distinguishes it today: not simply a place to pass through, but a small, living art gallery, welcoming and deeply Venetian.

Dante Apollonio was called to manage the hotel: a great orator and a figure capable of attracting some of the most important artists of the time.

Among the guests who over the years crossed the threshold of Hotel La Fenice et Des Artistes were Igor Stravinsky, Luciano Pavarotti, Federico Fellini, Miles Davis, Maria Callas, Riccardo Muti, Katia Ricciarelli, Robert De Niro, Carla Fracci, Ugo Tognazzi and many others.

Among them all, one of the most devoted was Marcello Mastroianni, who at every departure would greet Dante with a tender “ciao fratello” and a kiss on the cheek.

In those years, the hotel’s fame was such that it was also chosen as a film set for two famous movies shot in Venice: Anonimo Veneziano, the Italian film from 1970, and Don’t Look Now, the celebrated 1974 film.

1985 – Today

Still today, after more than fifty years, the Facchini Family continues to carefully preserve the history and tradition of this historic Venetian hotel.

Michele Facchini, together with his children Eleonora and Gregory, passionately carries forward the identity of Hotel La Fenice et Des Artistes: a place where hospitality, art and memory meet every day.

Paintings, photographs, autographs and art objects have remained an integral part of the hotel’s soul. But the Facchini family has not only preserved art: it has also promoted it.

From 2000 to 2009, in fact, the hotel organised eight painting competitions in its halls. The works created during those years are still displayed today in the halls, rooms and corridors, making every space part of a greater story.

Composers, actors, dancers and celebrated figures from the worlds of culture and entertainment continue to appreciate the hotel’s familiar and artistic atmosphere. Among them, also Mikhail Baryshnikov, Alberto Angela and Toni Servillo.

For more than fifty years, the Facchini Family has devoted itself to caring for the stay of its guests, with the wish to make them feel not simply like clients, but part of a story, a home, a great family.

The family of the historic Hotel La Fenice et Des Artistes:
the home of art and artists in the heart of Venice.