An imposing 1930s building located in the centre of Lecce continues to celebrate its remarkable past while embracing a new chapter in its history. Occupied until 2009 by the Banco di Napoli, a major landmark in the city’s Baroque landscape, the site is now the location of Palazzo BN, a luxury hotel exemplifying modern hospitality and elegance. First opened in 1930, the bank operated for almost eighty years before being relocated to another site and leaving the original premises vacant. A turning point came in 2019, when entrepreneur Renè De Picciotto purchased the long-abandoned building for a renovation project led by architect Lucia Bianco and engineer Luciano Ostuni. Their vision involved maintaining the building’s historic nature while converting it into thirteen apartment-style accommodation units offering home comforts with hotel amenities. Known collectively as Palazzo BN, the complex also features two restaurants and lounge bars. This conservative restoration project, completed in just over a year, breathed new life into the building and its iconic features. The safes were transformed into one-of-a-kind furnishings, grilles from the old utilities became vintage architectural details, and the marble wall coverings, doors, chandeliers and the marble slab that was once used as the bank’s reception desk now serve as distinctive accents. The basement, which formerly housed the bank’s vaults, has been transformed into a hi-tech gym featuring stylish floors tiled with porcelain stoneware from Laminam’s I Naturali collection, resembling traditional white and grey marble (Invisible White and Pietra Grey) but with superior technical characteristics. The ground floor, which previously housed the imposing atrium with its old cash desks, is now a food court offering a wide range of culinary delights. The bank’s former offices on the first and second floors have been converted into thirteen different types of apartments, each offering contemporary comfort and hospitality. “The goal of the redesign was to open a dialogue with the world, infusing the spaces with an international ambience while preserving their unique identity,” explains Bianco. The distinctive elegance of Palazzo BN is reflected in the choice of ceramic tiles for the floors and walls in the various rooms of the apartments, including the bathrooms and kitchens, and extends to specific features like the countertops and splashbacks. The versatility of these collections allows for a rich interplay of juxtapositions, colours and contrasts. In particular, the natural stone-inspired I Naturali series comes in five different surfaces: pure white (Invisible White), ivory veins (Emperador Extra), industrial grey (Calce Grigio), calcite grey marble (Pietra Grey) and dark marble (Noir Desir). The bar counter in the BANCO lounge is clad with porcelain stoneware from Laminam’s Ossido collection in the colour Bruno, which recreates the iridescent patina of aged metal. But the real standout feature of Palazzo BN is its roof garden, which offers panoramic views over Lecce. Pietra Piasentina Taupe porcelain stoneware from Laminam’s In-side range (the same as on the private terrace of the presidential suite), inspired by one of the most prized Italian stones, is installed on the floating floor. This terrace, like the rest of Palazzo BN, is open to both hotel guests and the public.
