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Location Situated on Via del Babuino between Piazza di Spagna and Piazza del Popolo, the location is exceptionally practical for exploring Rome on foot. The hotel sits right at the foot of the Pincio hill, mere steps from the gallery-lined Via Margutta. Major cultural sites like the Villa Borghese gardens are practically in the backyard, while the Spanish Steps are a short five-minute walk away. For airport transfers, Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport (FCO) is roughly a 45-minute drive depending on Roman traffic, while Ciampino (CIA) takes about 35 minutes. While public transit and taxis are readily accessible outside the entrance, renting a car is generally unnecessary and discouraged due to Rome’s strict Limited Traffic Zones (ZTL). I found that walking was by far the best way to navigate the area, and I always looked forward to returning to the quiet courtyard of the hotel after exploring the crowded city streets. History The land where Hotel de Russie currently sits was originally acquired in 1816 by the Marquis Francesco Lucernari, who commissioned architect Giuseppe Valadier to design a noble palace. Valadier was simultaneously designing the famous semicircles of Piazza del Popolo, and his work here served as a private, small-scale blueprint for what he would later construct on the Pinciano Hill. In the 1820s, the structure opened as the “Albergo di Russia,” drawing international aristocracy, Russian royalty, and artists like sculptor John Gibson. The hotel changed hands over the decades, welcoming figures like Prince Girolamo Bonaparte, Sergei Diaghilev, and Pablo Picasso as I mentioned earlier. After serving as a military information service headquarters during World War II and later housing the offices of Italy’s national broadcaster (RAI) for several decades, Sir Rocco Forte acquired the property in 1999. A multi-year restoration project concluded between 2020 and 2021, bringing Valadier’s original 19th-century “Secret Garden” layout back to light, restoring its terraced balustrades, classical nymphs, and trickling water fountains.