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Exploring Francis Ford Coppola’s jaw-dropping palazzo in Bernalda, Italy
Francis Ford Coppola might be one of America’s most revered directors, but his roots lie in Italy. The Apocalypse Now director’s grandfather was born in Bernalda in the southern region of Basilicata, where Coppola would eventually return and buy and renovate the majestic Palazzo Margherita, bringing his family history full circle.
It only makes sense that Coppola would return to his ancestral place in later life. The film that made him a sensation, The Godfather, was a tale of migration, after all. Like Francis Ford’s grandparents, who left Bernalda in 1904, Vito Corleone flees Italy for a better life in the New World, risking life and limb to make the dangerous crossing, which, for many, was only the beginning of the hardships. Even as a young man, the director’s heritage shaped his work; of course, he would return to where it all began.
Palazzo Margherita was built in 1892 by (surprise, surprise) the Margherita family. It was still their home when Mussolini came to power in 1922. While painting a portrait of life in Bernalda during Mussolini’s reign, the director told Anthony Bourdain: “Every town had a Podestà, the official of the fascist party, and this family [pointing to Palazzo Margherita] was the Podestà. The ladies here were so snobby. We are low-class Italians; they were more high-class Italians”.
After making his name, Coppola decided to set himself a new project: restore and revitalise Palazzo Margherita. Francis Ford’s desire to give new life to the 19th-century architectural marvel convinced him to purchase the property from two elderly sisters, who had allowed it to fall into disrepair.
Looking to restore the house to its former grandeur, he turned to longtime film collaborator Dean Tavoulari and French interior designer extraordinaire Jacques Grange. Tavoulari and Grange adorned Palazzo Margherita with sumptuous frescos, neoclassical finishes, and lush, secluded gardens bordered by vine-covered walls.
The overall effect is one of having stepped into a painting by Monet. Though unabashed luxury is on full display at Palazzo Margherita, Coppola made a point of making the ‘Cinicetta bar’ area open to all – his way of giving back to the people of Bernalda.
Coppola didn’t visit the town until 1960. By then, the myth of the place – established through his grandfather’s colourful stories – had already laid its roots in his imagination. The director travelled there out of a desire to witness Festa di San Bernadino, a religious festival and procession held in honour of Saint Bernadino of Siena.
After seeing the Palazzo, still owned by the granddaughter of the original builders, Coppola found himself unable to get the property out of his head. “The idea of buying the palazzo kept coming into my mind,” he told 1stDibs. Eventually, in 2005, Coppola bit the bullet and gave Bernalda a brand new palace to call its own. Of course, he included a suite for himself as well.
