Palazzo Margherita
Matera · Italy
Reviews
Character and identity
Tucked behind sage green doors on the main corso of Bernalda, an unsung hilltop town in Basilicata, Palazzo Margherita is Francis Ford Coppola's restored 19th-century family palazzo, a passion project rooted in his father's birthplace. Just nine rooms (seven suites, two garden bedrooms) sit around a terracotta courtyard and an Italian garden of jasmine, wisteria and a parasol-shaded pool. Jacques Grange's interiors honour the original frescoed ceilings, marmolino and hand-painted detail. Dining centres on the brick-vaulted Cinecittà Bar-Bistrot, with a film library upstairs curated by Coppola himself. Service, led by Rosella de Filippo, runs warm, personal and unmistakably Italian.
Who's it for
Best for:
Design-literate couples and small groups of friends who want a slow, deeply rooted slice of southern Italy: ancient-grain pasta classes, oil tastings in masserie, truffle hunting, screenings of Sorrentino in the upstairs sitting room. Cinephiles, food obsessives, and travellers who prize Puglia's quieter cousin will find their people here. Buy-outs work beautifully for extended families.
Should look elsewhere:
Spa devotees (there isn't one, just in-room massages), beach holidaymakers who want sand at the doorstep (the Ionian is a 15-minute drive with a shuttle window), and families wanting a structured kids' club. Anyone seeking a polished resort product or buzzy tourist town should keep moving.
Bottom line
What you're paying for is intimacy and authorship: a nine-key family home in a town with no tourist trail, where the cooking, the films, the garden and the staff all feel personally curated. Book the Francis Suite for the working fireplace and clawfoot tub, or the Sofia for the chequerboard floors and balcony. Consider a buy-out for milestone trips, and build in time for Matera and a beach club day.
Location
What this place offers
- Wi-Fi
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Room service
- Breakfast
- Breakfast buffet
- Full service laundry
- Pool
- Kid-friendly
- Parking
