The St. Regis Rome historical timeline

Last updated on October 5, 2026

6.9 /10

Overall rating

Rate

A Belle Époque hotel whose two best objects — a ballroom and a lift — are both dated, attributed and still in use.

Chronology

Antiquity — the district is the site of the largest Roman bath complex in the world, the Baths of Diocletian. Structural impact: the ground the quarter was later laid out on. What you see today: the reason the hotel's own art commission is about the baths rather than about itself.
After 1870 — the area is developed as an elegant district for the new elite of the capital of Italy. Structural impact: the broad streets and large plots that a grand hotel needs. What you see today: why a building of this scale stands here at all.
1890 — the Roman architect Giulio Podesti (1857–1909) designs the ballroom. Structural impact: a 276-square-metre hall with adjoining rooms and, the hotel says, perfect acoustics. What you see today: the Ritz Ballroom, with its original frescoes and marbled walls.
1894 — César Ritz opens it, as the first public ballroom of Rome. Structural impact: none. What you see today: the hotel's claim to primacy, and the room it rests on.
The same era — the hotel's lift is designed and built by César Ritz and registered as the thirteenth modern elevator of the period in Rome, known then as a "rising room". Structural impact: a shaft and a car that are still the originals. What you see today: the same shell, re-equipped with current technology and fully operating.
January 2020 — Galleria Continua, marking its thirtieth anniversary, opens a permanent exhibition space at the hotel, after earlier collaborations with it. The programme is inaugurated by Loris Cecchini with four site-specific installations, on the occasion of the unveiling of a meticulous full restoration of the hotel. Structural impact: a full restoration of the building. What you see today: contemporary art as a permanent fixture rather than a loan.

Verified against Marriott — The St. Regis Rome, October 2026.

External resources

Sources & verification Covers the sourced claims on this page.

Checked against Marriott — The St. Regis Rome — The St. Regis Rome states that the Ritz Ballroom was the first public ballroom of Rome, designed by the Roman architect Giulio Podesti, who lived from 1857 to 1909, in 1890, and opened by Cesar Ritz in 1894, and that the hall is characterised by its original frescoes, marbled walls and magnificent chandeliers, The St. Regis Rome states that the hotel's lift was designed and built by Cesar Ritz and registered as the thirteenth modern elevator of the era in Rome, that the elevator was called a rising room at the time, and that the same shell, equipped with the latest technology, is fully operating today, The St. Regis Rome states that in January 2020 Galleria Continua celebrated its thirtieth anniversary by opening a new permanent exhibition space at the hotel, that the gallery's interest in Rome followed previous successful collaborations with the hotel, and that the calendar of its exhibitions was inaugurated by a collaboration with Loris Cecchini comprising four site-specific installations, on the occasion of the unveiling of a meticulous full restoration of the hotel, The St. Regis Rome states that a virtual reality project by IF Experience for the hotel, called The Evolution of a District and concerning the Baths of Diocletian, lets guests discover the events that transformed the area where the largest Roman bath complex in the world was built, in an elegant district for the new elite of the capital of Italy, where the hotel stands today (October 2026).

The St. Regis Rome historical timeline

Chronology

External resources

Recommended articles