Orient Express La Minerva, Rome – A Renaissance orchestrated by Hugo Toro

Located just steps from the Pantheon in the historic heart of Rome, La Minerva embarks on a new chapter under the creative direction of Hugo Toro. The architect and designer offers a bold reinterpretation of this emblematic 17th-century building, delicately blending heritage, contemporary storytelling, and a refined attention to detail.

In this project, Hugo Toro continues a guiding principle of his work: anchoring emotion within space. Inspired by the site’s rich history, he envisions an interior scenography where volumes converse with the centuries. The walls still carry traces of the past, but light, materials, and lines now tell the story of a reimagined Rome. Hotel Minerva becomes a living, inhabited, almost theatrical setting, where every room invites quiet contemplation.

Hugo Toro’s aesthetic draws as much from the grandeur of Antiquity as from a cinematic imagination. He infuses the space with a deeply personal softness—warm palettes, patinated textures, and bespoke furniture conceived as collectible pieces. Original frescoes are preserved or reinterpreted, marble floors harmonize with precious fabrics, and a subtle yet deliberate influence of the Orient Express world runs throughout—a timeless, almost weightless elegance, where each space seems suspended between eras.

More than a renovation, Hugo Toro offers a sublimation of the space: awakening the sleeping soul of the hotel while instilling a resolutely contemporary vision of hospitality. La Minerva thus becomes a manifesto of his singular language—refined, narrative, and deeply embodied.