Byblos opens Art Hotel

Byblos is going for the art of surprise with a new five-star Byblos Art Hotel in Italy. "I've always loved the patrician villas that dot the Veneto region says Byblos owner Dino Facchini. As a result, the 15th-century frescoed and stuccoed vaults are adorned with Vanessa Beecroft's portraits of naked women, and the perfectly tended Italian garden opens on a futuristic Arnaldo Pomodoro bronze globe. The hotel was designed with the help of architect and designer Alessandro Mendini. The hotel, which was restored over the past three years, counts 350 pieces of contemporary art owned by Facchini. Among them are works by Peter Halley and Sol LeWitt, Beatriz Millar and Jean Michel Othoniel.