STRAF Turns 20 and Becomes the 1st Hotel To Transform into a Fully-Fledged Publisher with STRAFTellers
It’s undoubtedly one of the most revolutionary projects in the realm of hospitality. We’re talking about STRAF Hotel&bar, Milan’s first visionary design hotel, celebrating twenty years this year. This special anniversary is marked through STRAF HUB, a cultural project animating the hotel spaces throughout the year. Founded by Daniela Bertazzoni, Gerardo Bertazzoni, and their daughters Alissia and Sarah Mancino, STRAF has consistently pursued projects aimed at overturning and renewing the rules of hospitality. And this trend is reaffirmed once again. To celebrate this truly special birthday, STRAF HUB has created STRAFTellers, a project in collaboration with FestivaLino, conceived by writers Matteo B. Bianchi and Marco Rossari. It’s an ambitious initiative aimed at turning the hotel into a genuine publishing house.
“Since the existence of stories and novels, hotels have been an ideal backdrop and an endless source of inspiration. From this idea, the concept of creating a project in collaboration between a hotel and an independent literary festival was born,” Bianchi and Rossari explain almost in unison. Once a month, until the end of the year, an author will be invited to spend two days in the Via San Raffaele structure, immersing themselves in its atmosphere and drawing inspiration for their writing. The first rendez-vous was held the other night with Riccardo D’Aquila, a 32-year-old Abruzzo-born writer who, in 2022, published his first novel “Zia Dot” with Fandango Libri, unveiling his “Photo Graphia” to the public. Several representatives from the diverse universe of culture and entertainment attended the event. Among them, Paola Marella, Lady Tarin, Sara Ricciardi and Paride Vitale.
At the end of 2024, the various writers will sign an original work inspired by the STRAF atmosphere. Inspired by each stay, it will be an original story that can be read (also in English) both in print inside the hotel and in digital format on its official website.
Text: Germano D’Acquisto
Photos: Andrea Sgambelluri
