History
The Albrici lies on the Piazza comunale in the middle of Poschiavo, a townscape of national significance. Besides the church, the well-balanced proportions of the hotel make it one of the most important buildings on the square. Its historic-cultural significance and architectural qualities are extraordinary. The imposing patrician house was built by Podestà (Mayor) Bernardo Massella in 1682 as an impressive residential home with exceptional, sumptuously decorated rooms.
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The sibyl room on the second floor is unique. Along with its richly detailed Renaissance paneling and imposing coffered ceiling, it contains twelve sibyl pictures, painted around 1700 in southern Germany. Through marriage the house was passed on to Baron Franz Maria de Bassus in the second half of the 18th century. A printing firm that he set up in 1780 printed the first Italian edition of Goethe’s Leiden des jungen Werther. From 1828, the residential palace belonged to the Albrici family, who converted the house into a hotel in 1848. This conversion signalled the beginning of tourism development in Poschiavo, supported by the expansion of the Bernina Pass into a carriage road, which was completed in 1865. Situated at a strategic point in the village, the hotel soon became very important. The horse-drawn carriages travelling to the Bernina Pass found it an ideal place to stop for a rest. Stables are built behind the house for this purpose. The guest book shows that guests of various nationalities have stayed at the hotel over the years. These include famous names such as Prince Chernikoff from Moscow, the Italian writer and poet Giosuè Carducci and Giovanni Segantini.