Grand Hôtel des Thermes
The hotel that gave Salsomaggiore its skyline opened in 1901 to Luigi Broggi’s Liberty design, then grew in the 1920s into a fantasy of Moorish and Japanese rooms. It hosts congresses now, but the décor survives.
At a glance
The Grand Hôtel des Thermes was the first of Salsomaggiore’s great hotels and, for a generation, the most fashionable address in the spa. The Milanese architect Luigi Broggi designed it in 1898 and it opened in 1901 in a restrained Liberty manner; between 1924 and 1927 Ugo Giusti and Galileo Chini enlarged it and lined its public rooms with exotic ornament. Renamed the Palazzo dei Congressi, it now serves as the town’s conference centre.
Key facts
- Designed: 1898 (Luigi Broggi), opened 1901; enlarged 1924–1927 (Ugo Giusti, Galileo Chini)
- Original style: Liberty (Italian Art Nouveau)
- Later additions: Art Déco interiors with Moorish and Japanese themes
- Highlight: the Salone Moresco (Moorish Hall) and the Japanese Sala delle Cariatidi
- Current use: Palazzo dei Congressi, the town’s congress and events centre
History
When Broggi designed the Grand Hôtel des Thermes in 1898 (it opened in 1901), Salsomaggiore was reinventing itself as a winter resort and needed lodging to match its ambitions. The hotel set the tone: large, comfortable and unmistakably modern for its date. It drew the same clientele that filled the baths each season.
The expansion of the 1920s coincided with the building of the nearby Berzieri baths, and the same team carried the decorative programme across both. Chini brought the palette and the orientalism he had absorbed in Siam; Giusti handled the architecture. The new wings turned the hotel’s interiors into a sequence of themed halls — the Salone Moresco the most theatrical, the Japanese Sala delle Cariatidi among them.
The hotel later passed out of commercial use and was converted into the Palazzo dei Congressi, which has preserved the historic rooms as event spaces.
What you see
From the outside the building keeps Broggi’s Liberty composition — symmetrical, balconied, crowned with a deep cornice. The surprises are indoors: the Salone Moresco wraps visitors in horseshoe arches and tilework, while the Sala delle Cariatidi turns to Japan. It is decoration as escapism, exactly the mood a Belle Époque spa wanted to sell.
Because the building now serves congresses, the interiors are usually accessible during events and on guided visits.
Practical information
- Now the Palazzo dei Congressi; interiors open during events and guided tours
- The Salone Moresco is the decorative highlight
- A short walk from the Terme Berzieri
- Allow 20–30 minutes
Getting there
The building stands in central Salsomaggiore Terme, in the hills south-west of Parma. The nearest station is Salsomaggiore Terme, reached from Fidenza on the Milan–Bologna line; by car, leave the A1 at Fidenza and follow the valley road for about 10 km.
Nearby
- Terme Berzieri, a few minutes’ walk
- Grand Hotel Regina, on Largo Roma
- The spa gardens and town centre
Sources
- Comune di Salsomaggiore Terme — tourism portal (visitsalsomaggiore.it)
- IBC / Patrimonio culturale Emilia-Romagna
- Italia.it — Palazzo dei Congressi di Salsomaggiore
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