Lonely Planet Review
With its billiard table and black and white-tiled floor, Residenza in Farnese exudes an air of fading colonialism. Occupying the 15th-century home of the Military Order of Teutonic Riders of the Blessed Virgin, it offers 31 rooms, no two of which are the same. The general impression, however, is of old-fashioned charm.
It might no longer be de rigueur to dress for dinner but this is the sort of place where you might. Gentlemen in black tie would play billiards over brandy while the bejewelled ladies discussed whatever ladies discuss in period dramas. Unfortunately, however, the 19th-century billiard table is for show only. Displaying a tasteful front of oil paintings and pot plants, polished wood and Art Deco lamps, this discreet four-star has rooms spread over two floors (the 3rd and 4th - the 2nd is used by resident priests). All are decked out in classical style - antique furniture, parquet and wall-length curtains - with mod cons discreetly fitted. Some also boast views over Palazzo Farnese (now the French Embassy) over the road and Palazzo Spada; room 309 retains its original 15th-century fresco.
Review by author
Duncan Garwood