A late-1800s neoclassical building in Rome’s Regola neighborhood is home to the new 42-room Chapter Roma, the first property in hotelier and Rome native Marco Cilia’s Chapter Italia portfolio. Channeling a rebellious spirit in its design, Johannesburg-based designer Tristan du Plessis of Studio A says he created the interiors for “a youthful, irreverent, and social set of guests.” Patterned rugs along with the “colors and textures of the bustling city streets” create a specific Italian ambiance with communal spaces emboldened by statement pieces by artists including Willy Verginer, Alice Pasquini, and Cyrcle.

As an updated reimagining of Old World Italia, mixed metals like raw steel, brass, copper, and bronze stand out against exposed brick and vaulted ceilings. “The century-old stripped-away walls are beautiful in all their imperfections,” Plessis says of the guestrooms, with nearly each room featuring plush velvet-lined and Italian midcentury-inspired beds and contemporary furnishings. “The rooms were intended to be comfortable with a pared-down glamour that doesn’t feel forced.”

Boasting steel-covered Roman arches, the bar is an inviting hybrid space for work and play, while an upcoming daytime market will offer organic food and a signature restaurant, set to come online later this year. The biggest challenge, Cilia points out, “was to deliver that international outlook and experience, but stay true to Italian tradition and respect the local architecture and heritage.” However, he adds, “Rome is ready to welcome and embrace a more lifestyle and design-driven hospitality product.”