Buonanotte Garibaldi

An artist’s villa, filled with silk paintings, sculptures and antiques, set in atmospheric Trastevere, Rome's ‘Left Bank’

Buonanotte Garibaldi feels like you’ve been invited to stay at an artist’s mansion. Designer and artist Luisa Longo’s beautiful 1960s villa is set around a terracotta-paved courtyard that’s filled with orange and tangerine trees and shaded by magnolia. There are only 3 guest rooms: stylish, sophisticated and full of works of art.

Downstairs, the Orange and Chocolate Rooms, the dining room, the sitting room and Luisa’s studio all overlook the airy courtyard. Upstairs, the Blue Room opens onto a very pretty terrace that’s also accessible from the courtyard via a wrought-iron spiral staircase. In reception, a petal-like silk top adorns a tailor’s dummy and there’s a floor-to-ceiling organza painting pressed between plexiglass. The luxurious sitting room has 3 sets of tall French windows, edged by long pale-silk curtains. There are 2 long sofas, rich rugs on the floor, paintings, and sculptures. Beautiful art books pack several long bookshelves. Here you can sit and read and be served with drinks and homemade biscuits by the smiling staff.

Trastevere is Rome’s most charming district, all ochre-and-orange 17th-century buildings, tangled ivy, narrow cobbled lanes and inspiring piazzas. You're midway between the Vatican and the Colosseum (20-30 minutes' walk from either), and just 15 from Piazza Navona and the Pantheon on the opposite bank.

Highs

• Perfectly placed in Trastevere, near the sights but away from the tourist hordes
• Beautiful and elegant rooms, with an intimate atmosphere and lots of attention to detail
• Gorgeous sitting room with art books and artworks
• The chance to visit Luisa Longo’s atelier and buy her work
• Great breakfasts and homemade biscuits!

Lows

• Bathrooms are a bit small; only 2 have bathtubs, and the tubs are also small
• Pin-drop peaceful, so if you want a lively stay, look elsewhere
• Closed for 3 months each year due to government regulations regarding B&Bs (usually January-March)
• Mosquitoes are Rome's summer menace - each room has an electric device to kill them, but if you want to linger on the patio even a citronella candle isn't enough to keep them at bay