Building acquired by Donatello Fund, Subfund Michelangelo Due, in 2006. Donatello Fund was launched by Sorgente Sgr and managed until 3rd of December 2018.  

Hotel Bellevue Suites & Spa a Cortina

The Hotel Bellevue is located in the heart of the most elegant and fashionable vacation and ski resort in Italy, Cortina, acknowledged as the Queen of the Dolomites for its superb and unsurpassed beauty. At the foot of the mountainous theater, the Hotel Bellevue is located on Corso Italia, in a central position in proximity to the most important local amenities. It is just a short walk from the pedestrian area, home to the luxurious and dazzling boutiques, and a short distance from the most popular and well-equipped cable cars, bustling with skiers and vacationers. The Hotel Bellevue boasts a historic tradition in Cortina: built in 1894, it is one of the first pioneering hotels whose charm helped create the legend of Cortina, a favorite tourist destination for the elite and sophisticated with Royal families, intellectuals, writers, and film and television celebrities all visiting regularly. In the late nineteenth century the hotel was architecturally simple and traditional, with sloping roofs and extending portions, typical of Cortina’s houses. A four floor building with a wall structure was the base of the discontinuous construction, out of which emerged a corner tower, with a spire roof and a jutting block of wooden balconies. The building underwent some changes beginning in the early twentieth century: a further floor was added, the building took on a simpler form, the edifice is reassembled into a simplified and compact unit, characterized by a extending and continuous portico space on the ground floor to allow outdoor living. The cover of this linear porch outlines the continuous balcony onto which the rooms of the first floor overlook. This will be the image of the Hotel Bellevue witnessed by the American literary genius Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), who in 1923, staying in the very rooms of the Bellevue, wrote some of his first stories in the series Out of Season. In the Thirties, the hotel continued to be a favorite for vacationing in Cortina D’Ampezzo, boasting amongst its guests the most illustrious protagonists of the fascist regime, from Edda Ciano, Mussolini's daughter, to Italo Balbo, daring aviator and skillful politician. During the twentieth century the building witnessed successive major transformations and extensions. Its moment of greatest splendor is in the late forties and early fifties, when the famous architect Edoardo Gellner (1909-2004) was commissioned to redesign the hotel’s image. Austrian by birth and Italian by adoption, Gellner worked a few years at the Hotel Bellevue before reaching fame with the unique design of the Eni resort at Borca di Cadore, promoted by the enlightened industrialist Enrico Mattei. At the Bellevue, Gellner redesigned the entrance, signage, furniture and every detail of the reception hall and games room; with fine materials and innovative design he restored modern elegance to one of the most renowned locations in Cortina. Transformation and the need to satisfy every need and fashion trend have always distinguished this hotel, making dynamic renewal its characteristic note. After periodic upgrades in the late eighties the hotel is completely rebuilt according to a new project, which preserved the structural dimensions of the previous building, but completely changed the architectural image. A compact building with a narrow and elongated profile, set to a geometric cruciform-shaped plan and erected over 6 floors. The main entrance is placed on the longer side, marked by three large lowered arches of the porch, which is dominated by an imposing opaque wall, whitewashed and covered with a gable roof. The facades are characterized by wooden balconies, reminiscent of the local architecture. If at first glance the hotel appears like a traditional hotel, where the native local Ampezzo materials stand out, recognizable in the wood paneling and handcrafted decorations of the doors, windows, carpets and lace, upon closer observation the hotel boasts innovative design and modern construction. In an exclusive mix of tradition and innovation it offers spaces, furniture and equipment that meet every requirement and satisfy the many different ways to enjoy one’s vacation.