Publication date: May 3, 2023
“I left as a boy and came back a man. After many years abroad, I wanted to return to Italy for an exciting challenge.” Behind Matteo’s composed movements, I sense the joyful vibration of someone living an exciting adventure. He is the F&B Director of Six Senses Rome, a luxury hotel overlooking Piazza di San Marcello, right in the historic center. In front of the entrance, a group of sunbeams joyfully dance on the facade of the Church that Six Senses restored as a gift to the city. “Giving back is important to us,” he tells me, slipping in a few English words typical of someone used to surfing the world. “Being able to give back to my community, from which I distanced myself early on, fills my heart with joy.”
Matteo studied Economics and Commerce, but after his bachelor’s degree he realized that wasn’t his path. “I’ve always had a passion for travel, a taste for discovery, so I enrolled in the Alitalia course to get my pilot’s license. I had some time between theory and practice, so I went to London to study English: I never came back. Like all Italians looking for vocabulary, he worked as a waiter. He’s quick, and his enthusiasm is contagious. He had the opportunity to join Gordon Ramsay, grabbed it immediately, and built his career. After seven years in the City, Matteo set off again and found a way to stay close to that sky he wanted to learn to fly. He joined the opening team of the Armani Hotel in Dubai, inside the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, first as Assistant Manager, then as head of the private club. It was a wonderful experience, but I wanted to keep discovering and immersing myself.”
I’m curious to know what flying means to him. “Freedom and at the same time control. It’s contact with new people, ideas, ways of living. Working in hospitality, in the countries and companies where I’ve lived, has given me all this.” We pause; Matteo stops for a moment with a couple of guests to make sure their vacation is going well. “Hosting means making the guest experience real emotions by creating a tailor-made experience. Today’s guest is increasingly aware of the choices we make. Here at Six Senses, I’m lucky to work with small companies that truly believe in their products, respect people and the territory, like you at Boniviri.”
Lorenzo brings us a fruit juice strictly ‘made in the hotel,’ and Matteo thanks him with a knowing look. “We are a team of forty people; at full capacity, we will reach seventy. I built it from scratch, I took part in all the interviews from the start. I wanted to be the first point of contact for the team and to pass on to all my future collaborators the passion for my work and for this brand. I spend a lot of time here, I try to be with them as much as possible. I want them to know they can always count on me”.
An airplane draws a soft white streak across the blue canvas of the sky. Matteo is right. Who said you need a pilot’s license to learn how to take off? It would be enough to find the courage to step away from our certainties, to come out into the open from our sureties, to let ourselves be influenced.
To fly. To leave and return. To give back.
