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Bettoja family from S. Maurizio d’Opaglio, Piedmont, decided to divide their assets around 1840, and their second son Maurizio was assigned the properties in Rome. Maurizio was a very dynamic boy and started a trade of grain, oil and wine, which broadened soon out of the city borders.
Rome was experiencing the impact of new urbanization after the building of Termini Station in 1862, and Maurizio realized that being near the station would certainly help his business. In 1875, he purchased the first and the second floor of a building on Via Cavour, which already housed a restaurant with large cellars in the basement.
In 1878, Maurizio Bettoja opened Massimo D’Azeglio hotel and restaurant together with his sons. , Since then, three generations of heirs have followed maintaining the traditional gastronomy and the original design.
Massimo D’Azeglio Restaurant is one of the oldest restaurants in Rome, listed among the historical places of “Locali Storici d’Italia” and “Negozi Storici d’Eccellenza” associations.
Our restaurant was designed by the genius of Alfredo Biagini, a roman artist called after the Great War to give his original touch. Biagini used floral elements (that are not in place anymore) to decorate the walls, and garnished wainscoting with copper tiles displaying animals, mythological figures and plants.
Thanks to his works, our restaurant looks like a place from another era: you will find a collection of Risorgimento portraits, one of the so-called Acqua Marcia fountains, a self-portrait and a painting by Massimo D’Azeglio itself.
Over 150 years, we have hosted eminent people who contributed to shape history and culture in our country: General Diaz, the aviation master Francesco Baracca, King Nicholas II of Montenegro, Pierpaolo Pasolini, Giovanni Giolitti, Benito Mussolini, Louis Armstrong, Pietro Mascagni, Fausto Coppi and Sophia Loren. In addition, we have recently hosted celebrated actors such as Sergio Castellitto, Ornella Muti, Enrico Vanzina, Barbara Bouchet, Monica Bellucci, Iva Zanicchi, Cristiano Malgioglio along with Italian and international music stars such as Pink Floyd, Elodie, Enrico Vanzina, Enrico Ruggeri, Diodato, Enzo Decaro and many more
