The Social Hub ramps up investments in local communities, unveiling ‘transformative’ public parks in Rome & Florence

23 June, 2025 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands: European hospitality leader The Social Hub has unveiled one of Europe’s biggest rooftop gardens as it officially opens two major public parks in Florence and Rome amid ongoing plans to reimagine how hotels serve cities.  

The new green spaces, designed by leading Italian landscape architect Antonio Perazzi, form the heart of The Social Hub’s recently opened developments in Florence Belfiore and Rome San Lorenzo. With a combined investment of €260 million, the projects represent one of Italy’s most ambitious private-sector urban regeneration efforts this decade. 

With a 7,000-square-metre rooftop ‘sky park’ in Florence and a 10,000-square-metre ground-level park in Rome, The Social Hub offers its new spaces to the general public as part of its commitment to setting a new standard for destination hospitality, where travellers, students, professionals and locals connect side-by-side. 

Located in Florence’s San Jacopino neighbourhood, The Social Hub Belfiore opened in March 2025 as one of the company’s flagship urban redevelopments and bringing a much-needed green space to the area. On top of the 80,000-square-metre 4-star hotel complex sits the city’s largest rooftop terrace – a 7,000-square-metre elevated park open daily to the public and guests until midnight.   

Accessible via a stunning staircase, the rooftop features event zones, playgrounds, and walking paths surrounded by 4,000 drought-resistant plants and more than 1,000 square metres of permeable surfaces. It brings both beauty and biodiversity to Florence’s skyline – reclaiming an underused site and offering a peaceful, functional public space in one of the city’s densest districts.  

The rooftop also features a jaw-dropping 50m pool, lounge areas and cocktail bar for hotel guests, accessible also to locals in the evening. 

In Rome’s San Lorenzo district, The Social Hub has transformed the city’s former dogana [railway customs house] into a vibrant mixed-use destination, centred around a new 10,000-square-metre park – the largest open-air green space in the neighbourhood.  

The Rome hub, which opened in April this year, includes a 4-star hotel, two restored heritage buildings now home to a cultural venue (opening this autumn) and Accademia Italiana’s new design school. These three spaces are connected by the public park itself, which features native plantings, integrated seating, art installations, food outlets, and a playground. 

With more than 300 trees and native plants, the park is the first open-air space in the San Lorenzo area with the aim of bringing biodiversity to the heart of the capital. Inspired by the spontaneous flora of abandoned infrastructures, architects designed an arid-resistant garden to create a living, sustainable landscape that helps mitigate heat, noise, air pollution and bring a breath of fresh air to the district.  

The Social Hub Rome also features a stunning rooftop cocktail bar and pool with a playfully Instagrammable ‘Rome Around the World’ slogan on its floor.