Palazzo Maresgallo, a 16th-Century residence in the heart of Lecce, was the project of a lifetime for the architecture-and-art power couple Lionel and Miriam Gazzola, an architect-art collector power couple from Paris and Campania respectively.
After years of living abroad — Lionel is from Paris and Miriam is from Campania — the couple decided to transform their adoration for Salento into a boutique hotel slash art gallery set within the walls of a historic palazzo behind Lecce’s central cathedral. Since its opening in 2021, the hotel has seen many notable guests, including actor Helen Mirren and Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri.
Beyond the property’s dozen suites, outdoor pool and walled garden, the palazzo is home to artwork and permanent installations by the likes of Uli Weber and Roberto Ruspoli and, come October, guests on PRIOR x Cabana Caravan’s trip to Puglia, Italy’s heel.
The Check In
The property is in the heart of Lecce’s center, a literal stone’s throw from the Baroque Cathedral. (The vaults and clock tower can be admired from the Riflesso Suite.) Lecce exists in two realities in perfect balance of each other: The world outside of Palazzo Maresgallo — a bustling spectacle of people, accents, taralli shops and the ever-present scent of soffritto — and the quiet and tranquil oasis that is this 16th-century palazzo.
The heavy portone gives way to a courtyard, the core of the property around which a cascade of floors, walled gardens and extensive terraces shoot up in regal fashion.
The Region
At the tip of Italy’s heel, Puglia is filled with contrasts: palazzi filled with airy, frescoed rooms and secret gardens; arid, untrammeled countryside dramatically interrupted by the Mediterranean sea and jagged cliffs. The Salento region expands across the central and southern tip of the country, from the plateaus of Valle d’Itria to the bottom of the heel in Santa Maria di Leuca.
Filled with Baroque art and architecture, Lecce, Salento’s largest city, is the region’s pulsing heart and home to an innovative 17th-century style characterized by vaulted ceilings and frescos.
The Rooms
Each of the dozen spacious suites spread across three flights, from noble floors with vaulted high ceilings that reach out onto the central courtyard to the attic, which has rooftop access and overlooks the Palazzo’s hidden garden alongside Lecce’s stone rooftops.
