The renovation process of Il Mulino has been a long, rewarding journey. Through our work with Roman architecture firm Tonci Ottieri & Associati, we managed to create something completely new, while also respecting the building’s past.

Unexpected findings

During the renovation works, we unexpectedly uncovered a further ‘bit of history’ of Il Mulino: the coffered ceilings in Apartment La Palma. During the cleaning process, we unexpectedly discovered that our apartment La Palma’s ceilings were finely decorated. As they had been walled up in the course of the centuries, the exquisite detail of the ceiling decorations had passed unnoticed. Upon examination, our restorer Dr. Elisabetta Zatti has then found a patchwork of different paint layers over time, with the oldest decorations dating back to the late 18^th century.

The drawings

During the building works we also stumbled upon two antique drawings, dating back to 1859, which were also restored by Dr. Zatti. The drawings revealed another fascinating detail of the building’s history: during the Italian Independence War, Il Mulino di Trastevere was likely used as a secret headquarters for the partisans supporting Garibaldi’s struggle towards Italy’s independence. Thus the first, a self-portrait, probably depicts a Garibaldine partisan, while the second depicts a tree which, at the time, stood in the inner courtyard. The restored drawings are now on display at Il Mulino.