Roman Holiday: Vogue’s Hamish Bowles Goes Palace-Hopping (And Garden-Hopping) in the Eternal City Inline
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles1/20In Rome, Palazzo Doria Pamphilj’s resplendent picture galleries led the way to the Giancarlo Giammetti–hosted supper.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles2/20Giammetti’s lush, candlelit tablescapes in the Sala dei Velluti set the evening’s Verdi atmosphere.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles3/20The grand dining room at the end of the dinner.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles4/20The Cesi Chapel at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles5/20A statue of Antinous in the courtyard of the Palazzo Odescalchi.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles6/20A preview of the restoration works in progress on the piano nobile of the Palazzo Odescalchi.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles7/20An ornate gilt and frescoed ceiling inside the Roman palace.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles8/20A romantic Roman courtyard.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles9/20Bramante’s Tempietto within the courtyard of the church of San Pietro in Montorio.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles10/20Francesco Baratta’s Saint Francis in Ecstasy decorates the interior of Bernini’s Raimondi chapel.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles11/20Yours truly at Niki de Saint Phalle’s fantastical Tarot Garden in Tuscany.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles12/20The artist spent a quarter of a century bringing her sculptural vision to life.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles13/20The sphinxlike sculpture representing the Empress card.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles14/20Throughout the garden, tiles of Murano, Czechoslovakian, and French glass glistened in the end of daylight.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles15/20Mirrored tiles provided a disquieting fairground-mirror experience inside the Empress card house.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles16/20An interior view of the living room in the Empress card house.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles17/20The enigmatic Moon card sculpture set against an Italian sunset.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles18/20Inside Valentino’s famed Roman headquarters.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles19/20I jumped at the chance to sift through the house archives in search of sketches matching gowns in my own collectsion: Here, a printed organza gown from Spring 1977.
Photo: Courtesy of Hamish Bowles20/20And here, a ball gown from Spring 1987—a dress ordered by Susan Gutfreund and worn by her to Valentino’s 30th anniversary festivities in 1991.
