Monastero

MONASTERO: Inside the walls To restore the majestic power and spiritual dimension of an old monastic centre and make its most distinctive elements the main features of a unique hotel, was the mission pursued in the project to renovate the Monastery Serve di Maria Addolorata in the centre of Arco, Lake Garda. This noble complex with its' extensive garden, is encompassed by a high surrounding wall and dates all the way back to the second half of the 17th century. Half of the Monastery building, where nuns continue to live, has been left untouched and in 2020 work on the hotel project began in close collaboration with the Office of Cultural Heritage. The project consisted of two main phases: - The renovation and conversion of the monastery and its interiors into a hotel, achieved by creating common spaces (reception, lobby, breakfast room, bar area and kitchen) on the ground floor with the rooms mainly distributed between the first floor and the loft. - The development of a new Wellness area within the lush garden: 500 square metres of relaxation rooms, treatment rooms, saunas and a wellness course with steam bath. These interventions have resulted in a refuge that takes you back in time, closely centred around the history of this place. And where every construction choice, every material and detail, has been studied to draw on the majesty of the pre-existing context, exalting it and giving it new life. With its 40 rooms (including 2 suites), the Monastero Arx Vivendi - the name of the new hotel - offers hospitality in full harmony with the spectacular location. From a design perspective the underlying idea was to maintain the typical monastery architecture, preserving the original design of the internal paths and extending its geometrical rigour to the new volumes, paying close attention to the choice of materials and colours. And that's not all. The surrounding agricultural landscape also played an important role, inspiring the architecture of the light glass constructions that house the Wellness area and creating a symbiotic relationship between history and the land. Internally the monastery is distributed across three levels. It is a bit of a surprise to discover that the spaces on every floor are structured in very different ways. The concentric spaces of the ground floor contrast with the majestic corridor of the first and then there is the mass of wooden beams in the loft. Close attention was paid to this variety of environments, developing solutions that did not alter the various designs but which strengthened their charm and originality.