A place to belong

By Editorial Staff - 20 April 2026
Berti has participated in the project

With its official reopening in June 2025, the Ancora Cortina hotel has resumed its time-honored role as a symbol, an urban catalyst, and a space for social connection in the heart of Corso Italia. Established in 1826 and long regarded as the hospitality benchmark in Cortina, north-eastern Italy, the hotel has been reborn through a project that eschews the standardized tropes of Alpine hospitality for a deeper, contemporary vision of hotel architecture.

The project grew out of the vision of hotel owner Renzo Rosso, who imagined it as a living organism that engages with both the city and this moment in time. For nearly two centuries, it has been a crossroads of seasons, people, and stories. Its location on a terrace overlooking Corso Italia and its natural permeability between inside and out have, over time, made it an extension of the city itself. Based on an awareness of this, the redevelopment project aimed to preserve and amplify the hotel’s role, reestablishing the public dimension that has always distinguished it. “I have always wanted to create a place that surprises people at first glance while also making them feel truly at home”, Rosso says. This idea of home became the project’s organizing principle – not as a private refuge, however, but as a meeting place where design, social life, and comfort naturally coexist.

Ancora Cortina Hotel Courtesy Ancora Cortina

Charles & Co – an interior design studio founded and led by Vicky Charles – was commissioned for the interiors. During the initial phase of the project, Charles explored the hotel with Rosso, learning to appreciate at firsthand its esthetic language: painted ceilings, floral motifs, gilded details, and dark wood floors – taken together, a decorative richness that conveyed an authenticity and expressive freedom quite rare nowadays. Accordingly, she decided to reinterpret rather than erase. “The hotel had so much to work with: a strong identity, colors, decoration, and fine craftsmanship. Our job was to listen and translate”, the designer says.

And color is one of the project’s central tools. Departing from the neutral palettes typical of Alpine interiors, the hotel features warm, deep tones. Soft reds, golden hues, intense blues, and sage greens create relaxing settings that welcome guests after a day outdoors. Alongside the color palette, the careful material selection pairs wood and stone with elegant textiles, custom furnishings, and durable finishes. The 38 rooms, which include seven room types, each feature a distinct identity. From the rooms overlooking Corso Italia to the suites with views of the Dolomites, every space is conceived as an intimate refuge that never feels impersonal. While the rooms are conceived as refuges, the public areas – café/bar, restaurant, terrace, and Brave Club – are thoroughfares and meeting places for guests and residents. The project is capped off by a 200 sq. m spa and areas dedicated to fitness and mindfulness.

As the designer puts it, Ancora Cortina “is a home for creative minds and eclectic spirits that is anchored in history, shaped by craftsmanship, and alive in the present. It is not simply a place to stay but a place to belong”.

Ancora Cortina Hotel | Like a private refuge, the suite combines comfort and personality with panoramic views of the mountain landscape. Courtesy of Ancora Cortina

Ancora Cortina Hotel | Giving warmth and atmosphere to the entire space, the fireplace is the focal point of the characteristic and richly timbered lounge. Courtesy of Ancora Cortina

Ancora Cortina Hotel | Courtesy of Ancora Cortina

Ancora Cortina Hotel | Berti Pavimenti Legno created 2,200 sq. m of custom natural oak parquet flooring for the historic Ancora Cortina hotel’s 35 rooms, suites, and common areas. The hand planed finish and three different formats evoke the charm of historic residences, with every irregularity testifying to the authenticity of the craft and the richness of the material. Specified to combine elegance and reliability in this high end property, the wood is not just esthetic but also fire resistant, antibacterial, and dur

Ancora Cortina Hotel | Based on the hotel’s original rooms, reintroduced bed alcoves help create a cocooned sense of intimacy, reinforcing the impression of a retreat. Courtesy of Ancora Cortina

Location: Cortina d’Ampezzo, Belluno, Italy
Client: Red Circle – Completion: 2025
Gross Floor Area: 5,323 m²
Architect: Massimo Pegoraro (Red Circle)
Interior Designer: Charles & Co
Main Contractors: Sacaim, Sice Previt
Structural and Plant
Equipment Consultant: Studio Boccuni

All images courtesy of Ancora Cortina

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