Opening Shot is a column that peeks inside new hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops with dreamy interiors.
Location: Rome
Designer: Foster + Partners
On offer: For the new Apple store in Rome, long-time collaborator Fosters + Partners cultivated a dialogue between old and new that instantly pushes the opening to the echelon of the brand’s coolest outposts such as 5th Avenue New York, Marina Bay Sands Singapore, Central World Bangkok, Piazza Liberty Milan, and Dubai Mall. Located in historic Palazzo Marignoli, Apple Via del Corso becomes the tech giant’s largest store in Europe.
Standout features: A grand central courtyard dotted with Camphor trees, where a covenant once stood in the 16th century, offers a dramatic entrance. Inside, the once-home of a prominent banker and senator of the Italian Kingdom, then beloved bohemian hangout Caffè Aragno, has been retrofitted with thoughtful interventions and lovingly renewed. It’s surely the only Apple store in the world where you can see original pieces by Italian artist Afro Basaldella and early 1900’s frescoes by Fabio Cipolla and Ettore Ballerini, just a few examples of the restoration work.
