Places and moments at I Portici Hotel
I Portici Hotel is a constellation of iconic spaces, inside and beyond Palazzo Maccaferri: Teatro Eden, the 14th-century La Ghiacciaia, Salone delle Feste, Terrazza Lounge, Caffè Eden, Pasticceria Eden, and Portici Shop. Spaces that differ in history, architecture, atmosphere, and purpose, yet are united by the same ability to welcome moments that become stories. A dinner turns into a spectacle for the senses, a tasting becomes a deeper exploration, breakfast takes on the rhythm of a city ritual, a Sunday rediscovers the pleasure of being together, and a fresh pasta class becomes a way to bring Bologna home with you. This is what makes I Portici Hotel a Place of Tales.
The spaces of the I Portici experience
A romantic dinner? An escape from the everyday? A special occasion? At I Portici Hotel, you will always find a place ready to welcome your moment and transform it into a story.
An antique 19th-century cafe-chantant and the theatrical heart of Palazzo Maccaferri, Teatro Eden is where the I Portici experience becomes a spectacle for the senses. Amid Liberty frescoes, designer furnishings, and Belle Epoque echoes, it hosts the breakfast buffet and Ristorante I Portici, awarded 1 MICHELIN Star in the 2026 Guide.
Ancient and vividly alive, La Ghiacciaia is one of the most intimate and evocative spaces in Palazzo Maccaferri. Created in the 14th century as part of the Rocca di Galliera, today it hosts fine-dining lunches, visits, tastings and bespoke events, above the stone vault that safeguards the prestigious cellar of Ristorante I Portici.
Spacious and filled with light, the Salone delle Feste is one of the most iconic and elegant spaces in Palazzo Maccaferri. Located on the second floor and embellished with Liberty frescoes, it hosts meetings, receptions, and private events in synergy with Terrazza Lounge and Cucina Portici.
Suspended above the greenery of Parco della Montagnola on the second floor of Palazzo Maccaferri, beside the Salone delle Feste, Terrazza Lounge is the place that changes your perception of the city. In the warmer season, this airy, elevated, unexpected dimension brings the Cucina Portici offering outdoors and welcomes aperitifs, lunches, dinners, receptions, and private events.
Overlooking Via Indipendenza on the ground floor of Palazzo Maccaferri, Caffè Eden and Pasticceria Eden are where the I Portici experience falls into step with the city. They welcome breakfasts, brunches, lunch breaks, afternoon treats, and aperitifs with the sweet and savory creations of Pastry Chef Vincenzo Digifico, turning every pause into a gentle pleasure.
Within Palazzo Maccaferri, and online, Portici Shop was created to give shape to the I Portici lifestyle and turn it into something to choose for yourself or gift to someone you love. Here, the fresh pasta made by the sfogline, local specialties, gastronomic selections from Ristorante I Portici, and hospitality-inspired products become Bolognese memories to relive every day, even at home.
Outside Palazzo Maccaferri, yet still in the heart of Bologna, Bottega Portici and Academy Portici are the places that extend the I Portici lifestyle into the city in a convivial, informal key. On one side, a casual food restaurant that reinterprets the gastronomic tradition of Emilia in a modern way, for breakfast, lunch, aperitifs, and dinner; on the other, a school of traditional Bolognese cooking for cooking classes, team building, and culinary experiences.
The spectacle of the senses
Step into Teatro Eden-Kursaal, take your seat among Liberty frescoes, designer furnishings, and Belle Epoque echoes. Look around: you are in Bologna’s first cafe-chantant, one of the city’s most fashionable places until 1923. Listen: the curtain rises on Ristorante I Portici, awarded 1 MICHELIN Star in the 2026 Guide, and the story takes shape in menus inspired by theatrical works. Savor the cuisine of Executive Chef Nicola Annunziata, who works with ingredients by subtraction: a few selected elements, a bond with the territory, respect for seasonality, technique, and creativity. Let yourself be guided by attentive, discreet service, explore the nuances of the wine selection, and enjoy the final act with desserts by Pastry Chef Vincenzo Digifico.
Can you feel it? Course after course, you are no longer a spectator: you are the protagonist of a spectacle for the senses.
The journey in depth
Descend into the 14th-century La Ghiacciaia and let yourself be moved by history, silence, and fascination. You are in a place both ancient and vividly alive, created in the 14th century as the great storage chamber of the Rocca di Galliera, annexed to Palazzo Maccaferri in 1903, and now restored to a new life. Look: only a glass floor separates its multiple souls. Below, the stone vault protects the prestigious cellar of Ristorante I Portici, with more than 900 labels and 3,500 bottles. Above, the space becomes intimate, sheltered, evocative. Experience: a fine-dining lunch, a guided visit with tasting, an exclusive dinner, a private event.
Let wine meet signature cuisine and do not resist: you are traveling through space, time, and taste.
All you need to do is go to the ground floor of Palazzo Maccaferri and follow the fragrance of coffee, croissants, and viennoiserie. There you are: inside the rhythm of the city. Caffè Eden accompanies you from morning to late afternoon: an unhurried breakfast, a tempting lunch break, an aperitif, while you watch Bologna’s playful comings and goings, among meetings, conversation, and laughter. Beside it, Pasticceria Eden invites you to choose your own little delight: a creation by Pastry Chef Vincenzo Digifico, to take away or enjoy seated at the cafe.
Why not? Give in, let yourself be inspired, savor the moment. Enjoy your delicious pause, a slower time, a gentle pleasure.
The pleasure of being together
Feel that desire for togetherness, for conviviality around exceptional food. Then head up to the second floor of Palazzo Maccaferri and arrive at Cucina Portici, where signature cuisine takes on a more open, convivial form. Perhaps you will stay right here: Emilia’s tradition continues to surprise in seasonal menus, with fresh pasta from the sfogline of Portici Shop, local ingredients, contemporary recipes, and the creativity of Executive Chef Nicola Annunziata. Or perhaps you will step out onto Terrazza Lounge, sipping a glass of wine before the greenery of Parco della Montagnola, in an elevated, airy, luminous dimension.
One thing is certain: you will rediscover the pleasure of a business lunch, a pizza with friends, a moment lived without haste. And the beauty of always feeling at ease.
Perhaps your stay is over, or perhaps it is simply nostalgia. What is certain is that something remains with you: a flavor, a gesture, a fragrance, a way of life you want to make your own. So you stop by Portici Shop, where the I Portici lifestyle can be chosen for yourself or gifted to someone you love: fresh pasta made by the sfogline, local specialties, gastronomic selections, and hospitality details.
Still not enough? A dedicated selection linked to Ristorante I Portici offers products connected to the dining experience, together with an e-commerce service that allows shipping throughout Italy or pre-ordering for direct pickup on site.
Where the I Portici experience begins
More than a place, I Portici Hotel is the backdrop against which every traveler becomes the protagonist. An experience that begins in the room, unfolds in the palazzo’s iconic spaces, and takes shape through the services that accompany the stay.
And you? Which moment would you like to experience?
Tell us what you dream of. We will help transform it into reality by combining bespoke places and experiences, inside and beyond I Portici.
