At the Donatello Bar at The Excelsior, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Florence, the Negroni Experience takes you on a journey through the history of the famous Florentine cocktail, amidst original early 20th-century décor and charming traveling bar cabinets.

The 5-star The Excelsior, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Florence, which recently reopened under the Marriott Group’s new The Luxury Collection brand, is home to the legendary Donatello Bar, a key fixture of Florentine social life for decades.

Here, in addition to the hidden bar located in the hotel’s adjacent Library room, various experiences connected to the city and its DNA come to life, both in the selection of amenities created in collaboration with prestigious local artisans and suppliers, and thanks to the Concierge Team, mostly composed of Les Clefs d’Or members, and the expert bartenders.

There can be no good life where there is no good drinking.

(Benjamin Franklin)

Among the most popular experiences, Antonino Di Girolamo, Bar Manager at The Excelsior, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Florence, leads the Negroni Experience (also open to external guests), a journey through the famous cocktail, born in Florence.

The Negroni was, in fact, invented around 1919 by Count Camillo Negroni, who frequented the Caffè Casoni on Via de’ Tornabuoni and, to strengthen his signature drink, asked the bartender to replace soda water with seltzer in his Americano.

The new cocktail was dubbed “Count Negroni’s Americano”, until it was later ordered simply as a “Negroni,” becoming one of the world’s most beloved drinks.

To transport guests of the Donatello Bar back to those enchanting Belle Époque atmospheres, a special Bar Cabinet inspired by early 20th-century travel trunks was commissioned. It was handcrafted by a company whose past commissions include an installation at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai and projects for the royal family of Qatar.

It’s from this precious leather trunk that Antonino, while recounting various anecdotes related to the many legends surrounding the myth of the Negroni, extracts everything needed to prepare a perfect one.

The rule of the Negroni is “one third,” meaning one-third of the amount of gin, red vermouth, and bitters, which Antonino interprets for his guests with Carpano vermouth, the first ever created in Turin, red Campari, and Sabatini gin, made with strictly Tuscan botanicals.

And once seated at the Donatello Bar or the Library Room at The Excelsior, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Florence, the first Negroni is sure to be followed by another.

In addition to the Negroni Experience, the refined setting of the hidden bar in the Library also hosts the Epicurean Moment: a gastronomic experience led by Chef Marco Migliorati, who offers seasonal reinterpretations of Tuscan recipes accompanied by tales of their origins. Each week, the experience extends to the Ognissanti neighborhood, with an introduction to the area’s iconic sights and historic shops, concluding with an aperitif featuring local specialties at the Donatello Bar. Furthermore, the Destination Discovery program invites guests to explore the hidden corners of the 16th-century palazzo, sharing its most secret anecdotes with the hotel’s concierges.

The Secret

The Negroni is also one of James Bond’s favorite drinks. In the story “Risiko”, her Majesty’s secret agent orders a Negroni while on a mission in Rome, specifically at the Hotel Excelsior on Via Veneto.

Useful Info

Donatello Bar
Piazza Ognissanti 3
50123 Firenze
Tel. +39 055 27152781

The Negroni Experience is by reservation only
Signature Cocktails: from €28
Wines: from €16 per glass