The Palazzo

Cool Dreams occupies part of Palazzo Gargallo di San Gaetanello, a fifteenth-century building acquired by the Gargallo family in the second half of the eighteenth century and restored in the early twentieth century by architect Francesco Fichera.

Kaleido Studio StP’s restoration took its lead from the building when shaping the hospitality spaces. Rooms, vaults and masonry guided the decisions, giving guest rooms and shared spaces different proportions and distinct characters.

Reopening blocked passages and removing recent partitions, including a corridor introduced in the 1980s, restored continuity between the rooms. Historic plasterwork and decorated surfaces that could be preserved were restored. The exposed stone belongs to the palazzo’s construction, making its transformations visible.

Bathrooms and service spaces were positioned in relation to existing walls and vaults; building services also use residual spaces beneath the roofs. Carefully targeted interventions and new dry-construction partitions introduced contemporary comfort while limiting changes to the historic fabric.

The entrance retains its restored wooden door and barrel vault. An automatic sliding glass door, set back from the street, creates a vestibule with a fast check-in station. From here, guests reach reception and the stone staircase, with its original railing and continuous lighting. On the first floor, three nineteenth-century stone doorways lead to a suite and the two corridors serving the guest rooms.

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Lime, terracotta, wood, metal and glass sit alongside the historic masonry. Natural light brings out the depth of the surfaces; in the evening, lighting reveals a detail, a doorway or an artwork, leaving room for shadow.

Bespoke furniture in the shared spaces combines American walnut, cane and Corian; wardrobes pair wood with cane. In the guest rooms, the wood is rosewood, while vanity units are made in olive wood and Corian.

At reception, the desk has the presence of an organically shaped wooden monolith. In the lounge, the bar counter combines matt terracotta-coloured resin-coated wood, brass and Corian. Each piece responds to the proportions and purpose of its setting.

Alongside these pieces, Gio Ponti’s D.847.1 desk in the gallery and the 699 Superleggera chairs in the suite living rooms offer two encounters with Italian design history. The suites’ two round tables are custom-made in travertine.

Bespoke furniture materials: American walnut, cane and Corian in the shared spaces; American walnut and cane for wardrobes. The bar counter uses the specific materials listed in the table. Vanity units are in olive wood and Corian. The round travertine tables in the two suite living rooms were designed by Marco Cartelli; no maker is credited here because the stone fabricator has not been identified.

The breakfast room displays the chart Ortigia, struttura e dinamiche — un modello sperimentale nella ri-lettura della forma urbana. Maps, historic cartography and a timeline help reveal the island’s transformations.

Study it before a walk, then look out in the city for a street pattern, boundary or form you had never noticed.

Ortigia in layers