Hotel Gabbia D'Oro

Verona is a city steeped in history; the architecture spans the ages from Roman times through the Renaissance and beyond, and it’s all perfectly preserved, having survived the 20th century completely intact. Today it’s this rich heritage upon which Verona’s tourism industry trades — and what better starting point than an opulent, old-fashioned hotel like the Gabbia d’Oro.

The atmosphere is impossible to place — though converted from an eighteenth-century nobleman’s house, the Gabbia d’Oro’s décor draws from any number of eras. Stone interior walls and timbered ceilings feel vaguely medieval while the delicate antique furnishings recall the 18th and 19th centuries. As it turns out it’s more an expertly curated reconstruction than any sort of historic preservation — the hotel was created out of whole cloth in the 1980s. This does little to damper the exquisite atmosphere of the place, however, and strict historical accuracy, it would seem, is secondary in a city like Verona, where tourists flock to visit a balcony where a fictional Juliet could hypothetically have appeared at a window above Capulet’s orchard.

The guest rooms are stuffed with antiques and artworks from throughout the centuries, and come stocked with Persian rugs, lush antique furnishings and either old-fashioned claw-foot tubs or modern whirlpool baths in their pink marble bathrooms. Breakfast is included, and cocktails, tea and light snacks are served in the Orangerie’s courtyard garden. For lunch and dinner it’s out into the streets of Verona, certainly not short on restaurants and cafés alongside its churches, museums and architectural wonders.