An 18th-century palazzo turned grand hotel on Via dell'Indipendenza, 106 rooms with antique furniture and Carracci-school frescoes, Bologna's only Leading Hotel of the World.
"Bologna's only fully legitimate luxury address, a 1738 palazzo built for Cardinal Lambertini, converted to a hotel in 1912, and the only Bologna hotel with Carracci-school ceiling frescoes in the restaurant. A walk to the Due Torri in five minutes."
Grand Hotel Majestic gia Baglioni occupies the former Archdiocesan Seminary of Bologna on Via dell'Indipendenza, the wide, arcaded boulevard that runs from the railway station down to Piazza Maggiore. The building was designed in 1738 by the Bolognese architect Alfonso Torreggiani for Cardinal Prospero Lambertini, who would later become Pope Benedict XIV; the foundation funds were a 2,000-scudi papal bequest. The Curia sold the seminary in June 1909 and the engineer Gasperini converted it into a hotel in 1912, with a fourth floor added in 1924. The hotel ran under the Baglioni group through the 20th century, hence the gia Baglioni (formerly Baglioni) suffix, and is now operated by Duetorrihotels. It is Bologna's only fully legitimate luxury hotel and the only city property in the Leading Hotels of the World.
There are 106 rooms across four floors. The categorisation is by floor and aspect rather than by size: Classic Doubles on the second and third floors, Deluxe and Executive on the third, Junior Suites and Deluxe Suites on the third and fourth, and the named flagship, the Suite Cardinal Lambertini, running across two original 18th-century rooms on the third floor with frescoed ceilings, original parquet, and a marble bathroom built into the former adjacent chapel cell. Standard inventory is decorated in classic eighteenth-century French style, silk-papered walls, antique furniture, Murano chandeliers, marble bathrooms, and most rooms run between 25 and 40 square metres, with the suites considerably larger. The fourth-floor refurbishment completed in the 2010s added a contemporary range of Junior Suites and Deluxe Rooms above the historic envelope.
The Restaurant I Carracci is the headline public room and the single feature that defines the hotel's standing. The dining room sits beneath ceiling frescoes by the Carracci school, Annibale, Agostino, and Ludovico Carracci's late-16th-century circle painted the cycle of European history scenes that remain intact above the present-day tables. Few city hotels anywhere can match the dining-room provenance. The kitchen runs a seasonal Bolognese-leaning Italian menu and an Emilia-Romagna-led cellar with the depth one would expect of a Leading Hotel in the heart of the region's most serious food city. The Cafe Marinetti runs all-day Bolognese aperitivo at lobby level; the rooftop terrace bar opens in summer with rooftop views over the historic centre.
Service is unfussy and old-school in the right way, long-tenured front desk and concierge, fluent English and German alongside Italian and French, and a working relationship with every restaurant of consequence in the historic centre (Diana, Trattoria di via Serra, Trattoria del Rosso, the Osteria Bottega circuit). The position is the second key asset: five minutes' walk to Piazza Maggiore and the Due Torri, three minutes to the Quadrilatero food market, ten minutes to MAMbo, and seven minutes to Bologna Centrale. For anniversary, honeymoon, or significant business use in Bologna, the Majestic is effectively the only sensible address.
A Bologna anniversary at the Majestic is the version of the trip that wants the city's most serious dining (Diana, the Quadrilatero osterie, I Carracci itself), the historic envelope, and the central position. A Junior Suite covers a standard weekend; the Suite Cardinal Lambertini handles a milestone. The hotel will arrange a private dining table beneath the Carracci frescoes on request and a private after-hours tour of the Pinacoteca.
Bologna business stays at the Confindustria, Lamborghini, or Ducati level use the Majestic by default. Three meeting rooms in the historic envelope, fast WiFi, an Executive floor, and the city's only five-star with same-block walk to the Confindustria offices. Power breakfast at Cafe Marinetti or in-room from 06:30; pre-dinner in the lobby bar; serious dinner at I Carracci.
A Bolognese honeymoon, typically combined with a few days in the Emilian food country (Modena, Parma, Reggio Emilia), fits the Majestic neatly. The Suite Cardinal Lambertini is the milestone booking; a Junior Suite covers the standard version. The concierge will arrange the Modena programme (Casa Maria Luigia at Bottura's house, Acetaia Giuseppe Giusti for the balsamic, Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana for the dinner with six-month lead).
Via dell'Indipendenza 8
40121 Bologna
Italy
Piazza Maggiore 5 min walk; Due Torri 4 min walk; Quadrilatero food market 3 min walk; Bologna Centrale 7 min walk; Bologna Airport 25 min by taxi
106 rooms across 4 floors
Classic Doubles from EUR 460/night
Deluxe Doubles from EUR 580/night
Junior Suites from EUR 820/night
Suite Cardinal Lambertini from EUR 2,400/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Built 1738 by Alfonso Torreggiani for Cardinal Lambertini; converted to a hotel 1912; under Duetorrihotels management
Restaurant I Carracci (Carracci-school ceiling frescoes)
Cafe Marinetti all-day
Summer rooftop bar
3 meeting rooms in historic salons
Leading Hotels of the World
Fast WiFi (free)
From EUR 460 a night. Junior Suites and the Suite Cardinal Lambertini book three to four months ahead for the September Cersaie ceramics fair, the late-November Lineapelle, and any Bologna FC home-fixture weekend. Lowest rates fall in late July and August.
Book This Hotel →Bologna's complete five-star and boutique listing, the Majestic, the Royal Hotel Carlton, Palazzo di Varignana, Casa Mia, and more.
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