Venice is having a moment—and then again, when isn’t it? With a bevy of high-profile hotel openings and reopenings slated for 2026, the floating city has only underlined its status as the place everyone wants to go. But while the crowds jostle for space along the Grand Canal, the legendary Cipriani hospitality family is reminding the world that it planted its roots here on a remote island nearly a century ago.
While the company began with Harry’s Bar, which Giuseppe Cipriani Sr. opened in 1931, its first real rooms were located about 25 minutes away by boat. In 1936, Cipriani Sr. acquired a modest wine shop on Torcello, transforming it after World War II into a “locanda,” or inn, for those seeking privacy. While most visitors were drawn to Venice proper, Cipriani saw something special in this sparsely populated island, replete with medieval buildings and a Byzantine cathedral. Over the decades, its charming seclusion has attracted a guest list that reportedly includes everyone from Queen Elizabeth II and Winston Churchill to Nicole Kidman and Elton John. Ernest Hemingway stayed for months while writing his novel Across the River and Into the Trees.
Torcello’s Locanda Cipriani is a short boat ride from Venice.
