A modern and functional hotel set within the walls of an ancient building, where every stone tells a story. An oasis in the heart of the city center, a few steps away from the port, the railway station and the beating heart of the ancient city.
Hotel
Welcome to San Michele
Recovery
In a city like Trapani, hospitality has the flavor of history. Hotel San Michele was born within the walls of a building that for centuries has preserved one of the many souls of this territory. The rooms of his oratory, from 1700 up to the middle of last century, hosted the groups of statues of the Mysteries, the traditional Good Friday procession which is one of the most evocative event in Europe with its more than 400 years of history an its 24 hour performance along the streets of Trapani.
We entrusted the realization of the most significant details to the wise local craftmen, such as the wooden toilet you will find in every bathroom or the decor of the breakfast room. For each room a specific combination of colors was studied and developed through hand-made fabrics specifically commissioned to skilled artisan in Anatonia, including all the furnishings and the tiling in the bathrooms, by famous Bisazza Collection.
But the most interesting work concerns the preservation of some details that are part of the history of the building, such as the old ceramic tiles, used to decorate the paving or the large tufa arch we rebuilt and stand above the hotel lobby.
We also wanted to recover a historic element such as the ancient stone staircase that represents one of the priceless crafts of Trapani, in use for centuries throughout the Italian territory and invented by the masters of our city.
History
We are among the remains of an ancient church, originally built in 1436 as evidenced by a relief in tuff depicting San Michele, now located in the entrance hall of the Bishop’s Palace. The building sees its full splendor during the Renaissance when it was expanded to become the seat that, for the rest of the year, would host the “vare” who would make up the S.Procession at Easter time.
The church, in Renaissance style, presented for the first time in Trapani a domed vault built according to the Arab-Byzantine technique. The entrance was preceded by a courtyard in Via San Michele; entering on the left there was a chapel with the white marble statue of the Archangel.
The dimensions of the church were rather small, 6 meters wide and 12 meters long. The bombing of 1943 and post-war urbanization had buried and left behind a fragment of history that today becomes the place to live your stay in Trapani.
