Hotels · Bernalda, Basilicata, Italy
Palazzo Margherita
BERNALDA, BASILICATA, ITALY
Our take
Coppola bought his ancestral village and turned it into this — nine rooms around a baroque fountain, a private cinema running Italian classics, and cooking classes that don't leave the property. Bernalda is genuinely off the map, which is precisely the point. Come here to disappear into southern Italy's quieter obsessions: food, film, stillness. If you need a gym, a rooftop scene, or anything resembling a resort infrastructure, this will frustrate you. For everyone else, two or three nights feels like a secret kept for decades.
Notable Features
- Guests-only traditional Basilicata cooking classes
- Private cinema with Italian classics curated by Coppola
- Secluded garden with historic baroque fountain
💡 Insider Tip
"Visit during the afternoon for a chance to enjoy a private screening in the hotel's cinema."
Overview
Palazzo Margherita, built in 1892 in Bernalda by the Margherita family, is a true 19th century palazzo. The town was the birthplace and home to Agostino Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola';s grandfather, who always referred to it affectionately as "Bernalda bella." Francis purchased the Palazzo in 2004 with the desire to transform it into a small, luxurious hotel, believing it was time to introduce visitors to this stunning and still undiscovered region.
Nestled between the ancient cities of Metapontum and Matera, the area is rich with history, including haunting primordial cave dwellings called Sassi di Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Location
Palazzo Margherita is situated in Bernalda. Located in the province of Matera, which is famous for its ancient cave dwellings, historic houses and unspoiled villages, Bernalda is relatively unknown to tourists. It is just twenty minutes from numerous pristine, white-sand beaches. While the nearby region of Puglia has become popular for sightseeing, Bernalda is one of a few beautiful towns where the food and wine have remained authentic and untouched by mass tourism.
The opulent salon is during the day, a place for reading, playing cards, enjoying afternoon tea and drinks; at night, it becomes a cinema, equipped with professional-quality sound and projection, and a vast database of movies, including Francis's personally-curated collection of Italian classics.
Hidden at the far end of the gardens, our swimming pool is generously proportioned and intended for family enjoyment, with bathrooms, showers, cabins for changing, and full bar and food service.
One of the Palazzo's most magical features is its large private garden, fully enclosed and maintained with a focus on historic preservation. Built around a baroque fountain, the garden extends through a web of secret pathways, natural arbors, allées of fruit trees and fertile beds of herbs, citrus trees and organic vegetables, all of which supply our kitchen.
Dining
Eat-in Kitchen - In the Palazzo's large, welcoming kitchen, only our guests can experience firsthand the traditional cooking of Basilicata (also known as Lucania). For keen cooks, our local chef provide hands-on classes demonstrating how to prepare typical regional dishes.
Cinecitta Bar - At the front of the Palazzo, the Cinecittà Bar is a traditional café and pizzeria that spills out onto Bernalda's main street and looks onto the town square. It is a perfect spot for people-watching, mingling with the local life and sipping our delicious Italian coffee.
Family Bar - The Family Bar is an intimate private bar and dining room where only our hotel guests can enjoy coffee or meals throughout the day, and pre-dinner cocktails and appetizers in the evenings.
Pool Bar - The Pool Bar is located in our garden and offers a selection of wine, cocktails and other beverages to enjoy while relaxing in the sun. Food from our main kitchen can also be ordered.
Sustainability Initiatives +
Palazzo Margherita is a hotel designed respecting the environment and the area where it is located. It has made important environmental improvements to its structure in order to minimize its impact on the natural environment. It also brings every day economic benefits to poorer destinations, through cultural exchange and understanding, and through self growth.
This year we have two important innovations:
1) our newest vegetable garden that we cultivate in an area of the countryside of our town (Bernalda), where so now we grow typical products with ancient seeds collected by the farmers of the region and that we make guests experience (they do the harvesting and we then cook the products there on site together with them).
2) Our Bath Beauty Amenities products are natural and created by a local company, with scents of our citrus fruits and the packaging is eco-friendly, made in Italy.
Also consider
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