HOTEL PRINCIPE DI SAVOIA, MILAN In 1927, the year the hotel opened its doors as the Principe e Savoia, Milan had already begun building its reputation as Italy’s business centre - it was the first hotel in Italy to install telephones and the first built next to Milan’s central train station, Milano Centrale. The first guests were international business people and power brokers. But soon, attracted by the novelty of the hotel, by the lure of a quiet stay in the midst of gardens surrounding the building, other guests arrived: international royalty, world-renowned artists, and intellectuals. Both before and after WWII, registered guests, more associated with the world of society and letters than with business, included the Duke of Windsor and Erich Maria Remarque, Charlie Chaplin and Josephine Baker, Evita Peron, and Maria Callas. The Aga Khan and Aristotle Onassis were also regulars. Andy Warhol too was a fan; Ernest Hemingway holidayed there with Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini, and Frank Sinatra expressed his appreciation to the hotel for “making me feel at home.” Equally, Sofia Coppola filmed Somewhere, featuring Hotel Principe di Savoia in many of its scenes, including the Presidential Suite with its impressive private swimming pool - the only suite in Milan with its own pool.
M illi O n A ir magazine
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