The Breakthrough: Via Sistina and the Travelers Who Found Bulgari
How a Greek silversmith’s Roman shop became the house of BVLGARI, from Via dei Condotti to Serpenti.
The Breakthrough: Via Sistina and the Travelers Who Found Bulgari
In 1884, Sotirio opened his shop at Via Sistina 85. He was 27. Bulgari’s archive describes an assortment of silver ornaments that he made himself, alongside precious objects and antiques. This was a shop with a curator’s eye as well as a craftsman’s bench: a visitor could find something to wear, something to display and something that seemed to hold a piece of Rome’s atmosphere.
Its location helped. Via Sistina sits above the Spanish Steps, a familiar route for visitors exploring the city. Sotirio’s early customers included locals and tourists, people for whom a well-chosen object could become a lasting reminder of their time in Italy. His silverwork offered more than the standard travel souvenir. Its value lay in material, workmanship and the taste of the person who selected it.
He also recognized that visitors did not remain in Rome all year. As the city quieted during summer, he pursued customers elsewhere. In the 1890s, Bulgari opened shops in Italian destinations including Sanremo, Bellagio and Sorrento, and established a presence in Swiss resorts. That expansion reveals a sharp commercial instinct. Sotirio did not wait for clients to return to his counter; he followed the routes they traveled.
Why Via dei Condotti Changed the Story
The address most closely associated with Bulgari came in stages. A Via dei Condotti shop opened in 1894. In 1905, Sotirio opened the larger space at Via dei Condotti 10, the site of the house’s historic Roman flagship. For a time, all three Roman shops operated together, linked geographically by the Spanish Steps.
The 1905 shop announced its ambitions in English. Above the “S. Bulgari” sign appeared the words “Old Curiosity Shop,” an allusion to Charles Dickens that also spoke directly to foreign visitors. Inside, the early assortment included silverware, antiques and objects from beyond Italy. Fine jewelry entered the mix in 1915 and gradually became the business’s center.
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