Travel Weekly shines the spotlight on destinations that offer elegant spaces to reflect and celebrate art for the 2025 World Art Day on 15 April. World Art Day celebrates and promotes the diffusion and enjoyment of art. It highlights art’s role in enriching cultures, expanding dialogue, and encouraging innovation. From painting to design, art inspires, provokes, and unites.
Le Dune Piscinas – Sardinia, Italy
Le Dune Piscinas offers a getaway where nature, heritage, and art coexist. Set amid sand dunes and coastlines, this eco-conscious 5-star retreat invites guests to welcome the quiet beauty of the island’s lesser-known southwest. With 28 elegant rooms and suites, tranquil wellness spaces, a silent cinema, and restaurants that reflect the region’s heritage, the hotel is a sanctuary for guests seeking serenity, style, and storytelling.
Here the art collection brings together cutting-edge works from Italian and international artists, displayed throughout its historic buildings and raw natural surroundings. The collection, viewable on this website, embodies a dialogue between art, environment, and history, making the hotel a living, breathing cultural installation.
Following a careful restoration that respected the soul of the former mining warehouse, Le Dune Piscinas now stands as a rare destination that celebrates both its historical heritage and its vibrant present. The hotel’s interiors are home to an extraordinary contemporary art collection. Each room, hallway, and communal space becomes part of a dialogue between the building’s past and the expressive works of major Italian and international artists. The collection includes works by Lois Anvidalfarei, Gianfranco Guerzoni, Alessandro Papetti, Medhat Shafik among others. Many of the pieces were conceived specifically for the site, creating a unique fusion between artwork, architecture and landscape.
Loyal to this evolutionary approach, Le Dune Piscinas makes headlines with a new recent addition to its collection: a striking sculptural work by Ruth Beraha, recently awarded the prestigious Premio Matteo Visconti di Modrone during MiArt Milano 2025, Italy’s most important fair for modern and contemporary art. Beraha’s work – a flock of ceramic birds whose heads flutter behind a wall – evokes an invitation to discover reality on the other side of the wall. It was praised for its critical engagement with power, identity, and transformation – a thematic resonance that now enriches the Le Dune Piscinas experience, greeting guests in the hotel’s reception area.
This acquisition not only strengthens Le Dune Piscinas’ role as a cultural landmark but also aligns with the values of World Art Day by making contemporary art accessible in a non-traditional, immersive setting. In a time when travelers are increasingly seeking deeper, more meaningful experiences, Le Dune Piscinas offers a unique opportunity to engage with art in one of the Mediterranean’s most untouched natural landscapes.
Collectively, the works form a curated journey that redefines the boundaries between hospitality, land, and art. As World Art Day encourages the public to engage with art in all its forms, Le Dune Piscinas presents a compelling story of how art can transcend gallery walls—inviting guests, artists, and critics to reflect on the intersection of aesthetics, nature, and human experience.
Villa Ardore – Florence, Italy
Located in the heart of Tuscany’s Chianti wine region, Villa Ardore offers a luxurious retreat and a sanctuary filled with heritage, creativity, and warmth. The villa’s interiors are transformed into a living gallery with contemporary artworks sourced from nearby artists, creating a vibrant space that honours the local community. On Art Day, guests can admire these works and also become creators themselves, by painting pottery with skilled Tuscan artisans or trying their hand at the ancient art of Florentine paper-making. It’s a celebration of expression and appreciation in a setting that feels like home.
The villa invites guests to slow down and engage with art in all its forms, from stone walls built with local materials to handcrafted furniture and thoughtfully curated design elements. There’s beauty at every corner, whether relaxing by the serene infinity pool, exploring the Roman spa, or admiring the vineyards from a hot air balloon.
Palazzo Dama – Rome, Italy
Palazzo Dama is a five-star boutique hotel nestled by the Tiber in Rome that features elegant interiors, where olive trees and lemon groves envelop a tranquil garden and pool area. Art is not just a part of this hotel; it’s a defining feature. From original Andy Warhols to tributes to Picasso, Miro, and Dali, each piece contributes to an atmosphere where every angle tells a story. Carefully curated design books, art, and rare photography prints transform every room into a private gallery.
Whether it’s a calligraphy session or learning the fine details of mise en place, Palazzo Dama invites guests to engage hands-on with beauty. These hands-on experiences are not just about observing art but about becoming a part of it. Guests can also end the day at the Pisco Bar sipping on Pisco Sour under a Warhol.
Ser Casasandra – Holbox, Mexico
Ser Casasandra, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, is a refuge where art and soul combine. Each detail, from carefully curated art pieces to immersive experiences, evokes a sense of wonder and introspection. The island’s untouched beauty, with its soft-sand beaches and absence of cars, provides a quiet stage for guests to reconnect with themselves and the world around them. Here, artistic expression becomes a way of life, incorporated seamlessly into each stay.
At the core of their philosophy is La Isla Residencia, an artist-in-residence program that mirrors their profound commitment to Spirituality, Art, and Community. Each year, talented creators from around the globe gather at Ser Casasandra to reflect, imagine, and engage with Holbox’s vibrant local culture. Guests are invited to witness the unfolding of these creative journeys and feel part of them. The experience continues beyond the studio: from soul-nourishing meals at Ser Esencia to guided explorations of the island’s natural wonders and mindful wellness practices.
