Located in the historic center of Ortigia, Cool Dreams occupies part of Palazzo Gargallo di San Gaetanello, a fifteenth-century building acquired by the Gargallo family in the second half of the eighteenth century and restored by architect Francesco Fichera in the early twentieth century. Rather than treating Ortigia as a picturesque backdrop, the project considers its layered urban fabric, local stone, changing light and relationship with the sea as the primary sources of the design.
Developed by Kaleido Studio StP, the intervention rejects both the reconstruction of an idealized original state and the complete removal of the interiors behind a preserved historic façade. Its central principle was to adapt the hospitality program to the building rather than forcing the building to conform to a predetermined hotel model.
Existing rooms, thresholds and circulation spaces were carefully surveyed and reinterpreted. Previously blocked openings were reopened, while recent partitions and a corridor introduced during the 1980s were removed. Reception, bar, lounge, breakfast room, art gallery, guestrooms and service areas are connected through a limited number of precise additions, forming a continuous spatial sequence that moves gradually from the urban dimension of Ortigia toward increasingly intimate spaces.
The main challenge was to introduce the functional, environmental and technical requirements of contemporary hospitality without erasing the building’s identity. Bathrooms and new service areas were positioned in relation to the existing masonry and vaults, while residual attic volumes were used to accommodate technical equipment and distribution networks. New partitions were constructed as dry systems, limiting invasive work on the historic fabric and improving thermal and acoustic performance.
The treatment of surfaces was determined case by case. Historic plasterwork and decorated or frescoed areas were preserved and restored, while recent layers damaged by moisture and without documentary value were removed. Where stone remains visible, it belongs to the authentic construction of the palace and reveals its workmanship, alterations and material stratification; it is not an applied decorative finish.
Local stone, lime, terracotta, wood, metal and glass are used according to their intrinsic character, establishing a measured dialogue between historical irregularity and contemporary precision. Natural light reveals the depth and variations of the surfaces throughout the day, while discreet artificial lighting supports the architecture without becoming visually dominant.
The courtyards extend the interior sequence outdoors. Here, historic masonry, water, vegetation and changing daylight create the quiet center of the project. The water basin and existing palm are conceived not as scenographic objects, but as elements connecting architecture, nature and memory.
Cool Dreams Ortigia interprets the Mediterranean not as a decorative style, but as a culture of inhabiting shaped by light, matter, water, memory and time. The project transforms hospitality into a contemporary way of experiencing the palace and, through it, the layered identity of Ortigia.
