Cristina Celestino Converts a 17th-Century Palazzo Into 14 Keys

Venice has a new boutique hotel with 14 keys, and it sits inside a 17th-century palazzo in Cannaregio. Elizabeth Unique Venice opened this summer, choosing the sestiere that once hosted Tintoretto's studio and currently charms Barovier and Toso artistic director Luca Nichetto. The district keeps attracting designers. Now it has a hotel to show for it.

What does the design involve?

IUAV School of Architecture graduate Cristina Celestino, who launched her Milan studio in 2013 and has worked with Fendi and Diptique, led the interiors. It's her second Venetian project, and she treated it as an exercise in editing. The building had survived multiple alterations; she stripped them back.

"The intervention involved removing those additions while retaining the elements that gave the palazzo its historical identity," Celestino said. "The historic timber ceilings and beams were an important part of this. They establish a continuity with the building's past and provide a framework for the new interiors."

The floors, by contrast, had to go entirely. That gave Celestino licence to work with seminato veneziano, the traditional Venetian terrazzo. "It is deeply connected to the city's architectural heritage, yet offers extraordinary freedom in its patterns and colour combinations," she said. In the bathrooms, large-format ceramic wall panels by Cedit cut the groutlines and smooth the surface against that patterned flooring.

Which room should you book?

The Canal Suite, first floor, is the one. It's one of two suites with a sauna, and its light lagoon green was chosen for a reason. "We developed a palette of green tones inspired by the water, creating a connection between the interiors and the view," Celestino said. High arched windows run from the living area to the bedroom, framing the canal; the bedroom's original beams carry a floral pattern unique in the hotel, where the rest are neutral.

The 14 keys split evenly between suites and bedrooms. Suites gain a small corridor between the walnut wardrobes and the oversized headboard, which makes the rooms read larger — a decent trick. Bathrooms get curved Art Ceram basins, dado-height crimson panelling plays tone-on-tone against pink doors and architraves, and Besana rugs soften the floors. Lighting mixes Celestino's own fixtures with Michele de Lucchi's Dioscuri globe.

What about dinner and drinks?

Da grandMa, the restaurant behind plush velvet curtains, seats 20 inside with more outside. The menu spans Venetian creamed salt cod and a cuttlefish and pea risotto called Risi e Bisi, with nuts served at the end the way an Italian nonna might. Pianca's Philippe Tabet Orchestra chairs and timber-armrest banquettes furnish it. Booking is recommended.

In reception, illuminated glass-encased pilasters by Venice-based Incalmi cast an amber glow; backlit glass repeats at the bar, where Galleria Russo curates the art. A glass-walled welcome area leads straight to an enclosed garden for aperitivo or stargazing. Each upper floor has a communal lounge furnished with Celestino's Peonia sofas.

What's nearby?

The main canal sits roughly 10 minutes away on foot, and San Rocco's Tintoretto canvases or San Marco are 20 minutes. Directly behind the hotel sits Europe's first Ghetto and the Jewish quarter. The canal-side restaurants and wine bars pour spritz and cichetti, and Saturday mornings bring fresh-fish stalls.

The details do the arguing here: brass Manital and Olivari handles, colour-coded slippers and bathrobe trims so guests can find their own. The suites even get a separate street entrance, which makes a 14-key hotel feel like a private residence. For a few nights, Celestino suggests, it can be yours.

Elizabeth Unique Venice, Fondamenta Cannaregio, 1061 – 30121, Venezia.