Best for
Choose Suite Four for its private hammam and the hand-painted garden frescoes Sofia Coppola helped design, especially if you plan to linger indoors.
Best for
Choose Suite Four for its private hammam and the hand-painted garden frescoes Sofia Coppola helped design, especially if you plan to linger indoors.
What makes it special
Take the palazzo’s beach shuttle to its partner club on the Ionian coast for a swim between days exploring the hill towns of Basilicata.
Room to consider
Take the palazzo’s pizza class to work with the same sourdough starter its pizza maker has kept alive since the hotel opened.
Insider tip
Add the Crypt of the Original Sin to the palazzo’s Matera outing to see painted rock walls beyond the cave dwellings of the Sassi.
Free membership gives you access to preferred rates, exclusive benefits and current promotions for your stay.
Hand-painted ceilings, patterned floors, and a garden hidden behind town walls give Palazzo Margherita its character. This nine-room Coppola Hideaway stands in Bernalda, a hilltop town in Basilicata, where Francis Ford Coppola's grandfather Agostino was born. The family connection runs through the house, from suites shaped by Coppola and his children to the Italian films selected for its Salon.
The palazzo belongs to Bernalda's daily streetscape. Cinecittà Bar faces the main street and town square, while the courtyard and garden open into a quieter world behind the facade. Within that small footprint are several places to eat, a swimming pool, and rooms whose decoration changes markedly from one to the next.
Large barn-like doors open onto the inner courtyard, giving the room its country-house character. A clawfoot bathtub and separate glass shower form the bathroom, while the interior pairs traditional details with pale furnishings.
One Garden Room Three design has a brick-faced vaulted ceiling above cream walls. The broad bed has a floral-patterned headboard and base, with white bedding between them. Glass-topped bedside units carry pale shaded lamps.
Blue-green glazed double doors are framed by taupe curtains in this design. A striped upholstered armchair sits nearby, and square pale tiles run across the floor. A pale writing table and a lattice-back chair provide another place to sit away from the bed.
In-room dining is available from 7:30am to 11pm. A down comforter is supplied for the bed.
Large barn-like doors open onto the inner courtyard, giving the room its country-house character. A clawfoot bathtub and separate glass shower form the bathroom, while...
Garden Room Two is a wheelchair-accessible room on the ground floor.
Vaulted ceilings rise above a traditional interior with a large closet and a writing desk. The bathroom's clawfoot bathtub stands beneath a window overlooking the garden. The room opens directly onto the garden and fountain.
In one Garden Room Two design, the broad bed has a floral-patterned headboard set against pale walls. Two open bedside units have glass tops, pale shaded lamps and small reading lights.
An arched blue-green glazed opening sits within a pale block-faced surround in this design. A woven armchair with pale upholstery stands beside it, offering seating away from the bed. Taupe curtains hang from a long dark rail following the upper edge of the opening.
The bathroom also has a separate walk-in shower. In-room dining can be ordered from 7:30am to 11pm.
Vaulted ceilings rise above a traditional interior with a large closet and a writing desk. The bathroom's clawfoot bathtub stands beneath a window overlooking the...
An extra bed is needed in the main bedroom for the maximum occupancy. The single bed is in an upstairs loft.
A restored, hand-painted fresco crowns an interior that combines classic Italian decor with a modern touch. The bathroom has a clawfoot bathtub and a separate shower, while the upstairs loft includes a sitting area. The main bedroom's original bed position is fixed.
One Suite Five design uses pale blue and pink wall stripes edged in gold tones. Pink ornamental borders run below the ceiling, with a candle-style chandelier hanging above a curved teal headboard. White linens sit beside a narrow bench with patterned upholstery.
A pale armchair and a large brown tufted table provide another place to sit in this design. The table has a dark inset top, while grey geometric floor tiles continue beneath the bed and seating. Tall glazed doors are framed by brown drapes.
The outlook takes in Bernalda's main street and town square.
A restored, hand-painted fresco crowns an interior that combines classic Italian decor with a modern touch. The bathroom has a clawfoot bathtub and a separate...
The suite has both a large walk-in closet and a separate dressing room.
A delicate ceiling fresco of Cupid and Psyche crowns a room filled with Rococo-inspired decor. The suite was designed as a gift for Gia Coppola, Francis's first granddaughter. Its bathroom has a clawfoot bathtub and a separate shower.
One room design pairs pink walls and decorative borders with a richly painted pink ceiling. A multicoloured floral-style chandelier hangs above a broad bed upholstered in narrow stripes.
Floral-covered armchairs face a round dark table in this design. A long patterned bench runs along one wall. Brown-and-pale tiles form a star pattern across the floor. Tall white glazed doors have sheer curtains. Daylight falls across the seating area.
The outlook is towards Bernalda's main street and town square.
A delicate ceiling fresco of Cupid and Psyche crowns a room filled with Rococo-inspired decor. The suite was designed as a gift for Gia Coppola,...
Italian decor from the early twentieth century inspires the furnishings and ornament, beneath a restored hand-painted ceiling fresco. The bathroom has a clawfoot bathtub and a separate shower. The outlook takes in the main street and Bernalda's leafy town square.
One Suite Six design has grey-green striped walls with yellow accents and painted ornamental borders above. A candle-style chandelier hangs over a broad pale bed, with a narrow striped bench at its foot.
Two pale blue oval-back armchairs face a reflective low table in this design. A large mirrored storage unit runs along one wall, its front divided by a lattice pattern. Tall white curtains fall beside the glazing and the balcony opening.
Grey geometric tiles continue beneath the bed and seating in this design. A writing desk is also included among the room’s furnishings.
Italian decor from the early twentieth century inspires the furnishings and ornament, beneath a restored hand-painted ceiling fresco. The bathroom has a clawfoot bathtub and...
French doors from both the bedroom and bathroom lead to the private terrace.
Jacques Grange designed this suite with Sofia Coppola. Its hand-painted frescoes evoke a misty summer garden at dawn. The bedroom's Juliet balcony overlooks the courtyard. The bathroom has a clawfoot bathtub. Garden and fountain views extend the setting outdoors.
In one bedroom design, gold-coloured geometric lines frame pale blue garden scenes. The pattern continues across the ceiling around a hanging lantern. A pale curved headboard frames white bedding, with two padded footstools at the foot of the bed.
Woven chairs and a patterned loveseat provide seating in this design. Nearby, a reflective writing table stands on pink, blue and cream geometric floor tiles. Tall white shutters and sheer curtains frame the glazing.
The private outdoor space is fully furnished for sitting outside.
Jacques Grange designed this suite with Sofia Coppola. Its hand-painted frescoes evoke a misty summer garden at dawn. The bedroom's Juliet balcony overlooks the courtyard....
On the ground floor, this room has wheelchair access.
Italian country-house style shapes a traditional interior with a separate sitting room. A floor-to-ceiling window brings daylight into this part of the accommodation. The large bathroom includes a clawfoot bathtub and a separate glass shower.
A representative sitting-room design is framed by pale blue panelled doors. Pale block-pattern walls surround a round table with a light top and dark curved supports. Woven chairs have pale seat cushions, with a small patterned loveseat beside the window.
A tall lamp with a tan shade stands near the table in this design, its pale stem carrying a textured pattern. Curtains and sheers cover the tall glazing. Square floor tiles continue between the chairs and the sitting area.
The room opens directly onto the courtyard garden and fountain.
Italian country-house style shapes a traditional interior with a separate sitting room. A floor-to-ceiling window brings daylight into this part of the accommodation. The large...
Jacques Grange and Roman Coppola shaped this modernist interior around Art Deco furniture and lighting. A restored fresco from the same period adds detail overhead. Slate gives the bathroom its character, alongside a clawfoot bathtub and a separate shower.
A representative bedroom design has a cream drawer chest with dark edges and handles. Above it hangs a rectangular mirror with a black-and-white chevron frame. A dark writing desk and chair sit to one side.
The floor brings together brown, grey and pale tiles in a star-like geometric pattern. The lower walls have panelling, while the upper walls remain pale. A hanging chandelier and shaded table and floor lamps add different forms of light in this design.
The bedroom's outlook is towards the courtyard. The bathroom is reached through a doorway in this layout.
Jacques Grange and Roman Coppola shaped this modernist interior around Art Deco furniture and lighting. A restored fresco from the same period adds detail overhead....
North African influences honour Francis Coppola's Tunisian-born grandmother, Maria Zasa. Restored paintings and frescoes cover the walls and high ceilings. A large writing desk stands in the anteroom. The bathroom includes a clawfoot bathtub and a separate shower.
In one Suite Nine design, tall pale curtains with a fine floral pattern frame three arched glazed openings. Carved chairs in green or patterned fabric stand near a pale writing table by the windows. The floor has turquoise-and-white tiles arranged in a broad geometric pattern.
Red, green and cream ornamental borders run above the windows in this design. The pale furniture and curtains sit below these richer colours.
The outlook takes in the garden and courtyard.
North African influences honour Francis Coppola's Tunisian-born grandmother, Maria Zasa. Restored paintings and frescoes cover the walls and high ceilings. A large writing desk stands...
Built by the Margherita family in the 19th century, the house was purchased by Coppola in 2004. He spent more than six years restoring it with French designer Jacques Grange. Family members contributed ideas, and the accommodation still carries names including Sofia, Roman, Gia, and Francis. The palazzo can also be reserved in its entirety for a private gathering.
Restoration preserved the painted vaulted ceilings and lifted and relaid the original marble floors. Grange designed some of the furniture and tiles, placing new pieces alongside the older finishes. Patterned tilework and frescoes remain prominent, with the decoration extending overhead as well as across the floors.
The influences are not confined to one period or place. North African references in the Francis Suite honor Coppola's Tunisian-born grandmother, Maria Zasa. Elsewhere, the preserved ceiling paintings include Cupid and Psyche. These individual subjects and family references give the rooms a more particular identity than a single decorative scheme repeated throughout the building.
Most rooms look onto the gardens or courtyard, while others face the town; terraces and balconies belong to specific categories. The ground-floor Garden Suite One opens directly onto the courtyard garden and fountain. Its separate sitting room has a floor-to-ceiling window, making the planted outdoor space a substantial part of the suite's outlook.
A queen bed and a large bathroom with a clawfoot bathtub and separate glass shower complete Garden Suite One. The sitting room and direct garden entrance keep daily life close to the courtyard's planting and fountain.
Suite Four, developed by Grange with Sofia Coppola, has hand-painted frescoes suggesting a misty garden at dawn. A Juliet balcony off the bedroom overlooks the courtyard. French doors from both the bedroom and bathroom lead to a furnished private terrace facing the garden and fountain, while the bathroom contains a steam shower and clawfoot bathtub.
Suite Nine, the Francis Suite, has a furnished shared terrace overlooking the garden and courtyard. Restored paintings cover its walls and high ceilings, and a tiled fireplace brings another strong pattern into the room. An anteroom holds a large writing desk; the bathroom has a clawfoot bathtub and separate shower. The North African design references give this suite its own distinct palette and atmosphere.
Across the rooms, writing desks and modern televisions sit within these highly individual interiors. Access to a digital movie collection focused on Italian cinema extends the Salon's film connection upstairs. The house's visual richness is matched by ordinary comforts, including air conditioning and bathrooms with a walk-in shower and separate bathtub.
Food follows the traditions of Lucanian homes. Vegetables, fruit, and herbs come from the garden and nearby growers, and pasta is rolled and cut by hand. Bread and pizza use flour from a nearby mill working with the region's older grain varieties. The wood-fired oven and local Aglianico wine keep meals rooted in Basilicata.
The Eat-in Kitchen brings that cooking into view. It is a large, welcoming room where the local chef shares a daily menu shaped by the season and regional tradition. Meals here have the setting of a household kitchen, with the preparation of food close to the table.
Cinecittà Bar has a more public outlook. At the front of the palazzo, the traditional cafe and pizzeria extends onto Bernalda's main street and faces the square. Espresso and cocktails accompany the view of town life, giving this part of the property a direct connection to the street outside.
Inside, the Family Bar is a private parlor for coffee, drinks, and evening appetizers. It also displays labels from the Coppola wineries in California. Outdoors, the Pool Bar offers aperitivo, while Garden Grigliata provides a setting for grilled dinners. The different tables spread meals through the house and grounds without losing the thread of regional cooking.
Beyond the courtyard lies a garden that developed from an older herb garden in the early 20th century. Symmetrical paths and flowerbeds surround a Neoclassical fountain, with natural pergolas and fruit trees breaking up the planted spaces. It is an enclosed Italian garden within the fabric of the town.
Cypress and Mediterranean pine rise among bougainvillea and beds of rosemary, lavender, mint, and basil. Citrus, herbs, and seasonal vegetables supply the kitchen. The planting therefore has a place at the table as well as along the paths, connecting the garden's shaded corners with the food prepared inside.
The swimming pool sits at the far end of the grounds. Measuring 10 by 5 meters, it has changing cabins, showers, and bathrooms nearby, together with food and bar service. The surrounding walls keep this outdoor space within the private world of the palazzo, even with Bernalda close beyond them.
The Salon is a place for reading, cards, afternoon tea, or a drink beneath intricate ceiling stucco and chandeliers. On request, it becomes a private cinema with sound and screening equipment. Coppola's curated collection includes Italian classics, bringing film into the same room used for the quieter rituals of a stay.
Beyond Bernalda, the region includes the Ionian coast, ancient Metapontum, and Matera's Sassi cave dwellings. Bicycles are available for exploring locally, and the team can help arrange cooking lessons, cheese tastings, winery visits, and encounters with local crafts. These are possibilities to arrange rather than a fixed program, with the surrounding towns and countryside supplying the subject matter.
Returning to the palazzo brings the scale back to a courtyard, painted rooms, and the garden fountain. A film can follow an evening drink in the Salon, or dinner can stay outdoors among the planting. Behind Bernalda's street frontage, marble floors, frescoes, and the kitchen garden remain the everyday surroundings of this small family house.
The Salone doubles as a screening room for Italian and international films, giving guests a fitting way to end an evening in Coppola’s palazzo.
The pool sits behind the palazzo walls in the garden, so you can spend a quiet afternoon outdoors just steps from central Bernalda.
The kitchen cooks in the Lucanian tradition with produce from the garden and nearby growers, making dinner an introduction to Basilicata’s home cooking.
Corso Umberto I 64, 75012 Bernalda MT, Italy
Yes. Palazzo Margherita is a special choice for travelers who want an intimate luxury stay in southern Italy. The hotel combines a restored palazzo, nine rooms and suites, gardens, a pool, cinema, dining, and strong Bernalda character.
Palazzo Margherita is in Bernalda, a small town in Basilicata in southern Italy. The location works well for Matera, the Ionian coast, local food, quiet village life, and slower regional touring.
Palazzo Margherita has nine rooms and suites. The small size creates a private-house feeling, with distinctive rooms, frescoes, handcrafted details, garden views, terraces, and personal service.
Palazzo Margherita is a 19th-century palazzo restored as a deeply personal Italian retreat. Guests choose it for design, privacy, gardens, cinematic details, family history, southern Italian food, and a sense of place.
Palazzo Margherita is part of The Coppola Hideaways collection. The hotel is closely linked to Francis Ford Coppola, whose family roots are in Bernalda, giving the property a personal story.
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