"Here’s a city that does traditional in spades, but until recently hadn’t embraced the sort of street-savvy, communal-spaced hotel that New York and London are familiar with. So Chapter feels like a place that fully understands visitors who have come to expect DJs spinning at cocktail hour and street-art tours at concierge. The brains behind it belong to Marco Cilia. After years working with London’s Blakes and cool-kid hotel slinger Grupo Habita—New York’s Americano and the Robey in Chicago—he returned to his home country to launch the first of what he hopes will be a string of social clubs and places to stay throughout Italy. The Chapter is in the Jewish quarter, an area right across from hip Trastevere that for years has felt under-appreciated given its proximity to some of the city’s star attractions, such as Piazza Farnese, the Forum, and MAAXI gallery. Its interiors are edgy in a way that Italians sometimes feel too conservative to embrace, which may be why Cilia turned to break-out South African designer Tristan Duplessis for the graffiti-scrawled lobby bar, quirky bespoke rugs, and pared-back, bare-brick rooms with mid-century inspired minibars, industrial metals, and punchy olive-green beds. Sandwiched between the centuries-old synagogues and café-society restaurants of the neighborhood, Chapter feels remarkably at home, even though walking into it from the discreet cobbled sidestreet feels like stepping into one of Rome’s freshest scenes. A thoroughly enjoyable arrival for the co-working generation, with a sense of humor and a can-do attitude." - Maresa Manara
