Liòn — Rome, Italy

Despite the tourist hordes that descend year-round on Rome, the city is remarkably resilient in keeping its secrets, especially its gastronomic hideouts which we’ve come to realise tend to be hidden in plain sight.
Case in point is the dramatically ornate Liòn. Housed on the ground floor of a 1930s pile a few streets down from the snap-happy Instagrammers in Piazza Navona, the restaurant barely announces itself to passing traffic, this despite the handsome façade and broad windows bordered in thick travertine.
Inside a historic, Rationalist building once occupied by a tourist restaurant, the architect and designer Daniela Colli has transformed the mood by weaving an intense tapestry of textures and colours. Arched friezes frame lacquered ottomans; columns are studded with mosaic tiles; circles of brass are repeated as wall screens, bar fixtures and ceiling medallions; the furniture palette fairly pops in hues of teal, turquoise and red; and the floor is paved in a dizzying harlequin of two-toned square tiles.
By comparison, chef Luca Ludovici’s classical Italian menu is a model of almost staid restraint, the number of ingredients in each dish confined where possible to three materia prima – for instance, organic rice with red prawns, bourbon bisque and tarragon, and a Fassona beef tartare hit with a turmeric mayonnaise.
ADDRESS
Largo della Sapienza 1
Rome
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
Wild sauna, anyone? The ultimate guide to exploring deep heat in the UK outdoors
‘Wild Sauna’, a new book exploring the finest outdoor establishments for the ultimate deep-heat experience in the UK, has hit the shelves; we find out more about the growing trend
-
Highlights from the transporting Cruise 2026 shows
The Cruise 2026 season began yesterday with a Chanel show at Lake Como, heralding the start of a series of jet-setting, destination runway shows from fashion’s biggest houses
-
Behind the design of national pavilions in Venice: three studios to know
Designing the British, Swiss and Mexican national pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 are three outstanding studios to know before you go
-
Sun-soaked European destinations to visit in spring
Dreaming of Florentine palazzos and Greek islands now that the weather is starting to turn? Check into one of these beautiful European hotels and holiday homes
-
Everything you need to know about Italy's Lake Maggiore, according to Formafantasma
From baroque gardens to panoramic views, Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin show us around this Italian escape
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Romeo Roma: a new hotel that’s one of Zaha Hadid’s last projects
Located within Rome’s Tridente, Romeo Roma is a palimpsest of periods in which the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid left her avant-garde mark
-
Five influential women hoteliers reflect on the changing face of hospitality
As women continue to gain ground in the hotel sector, despite still being underrepresented in senior positions, five female moguls share their experiences of the past and projections for the future
-
Must-visit cinemas with award-worthy design
There’s more magic to the movies at these design-led cinemas, from Busan Cinema Centre’s ‘flying’ roof to The Gem Cinema Jaipur’s art deco allure
-
The best Milan bars for a fashionable aperitivo
Milan’s after-dark renaissance is evident in a new wave of design-led cocktail bars, setting the right mood for enticing aperitivos and nightcaps; Milan editor Laura May Todd recommends the best
-
How Four Seasons Hotels became The White Lotus’ unofficial star
As The White Lotus season three whisks us to Thailand, Marc Speichert, chief commercial officer of Four Seasons Hotels, discusses the luxury group’s perfect synergy with the hit HBO series – and where you can live the experience
-
Night at the museum: the best art hotels to book now
Sleep amid surrealists at London’s Broadwick Soho, or wake up to contemporary favourites at New Hotel in Athens – indulge in an immersive art hotel experience