Palace Merano Celebrates 120 Years with Zinédine Zidane and the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation

From its Belle Époque beginnings to its position as a pioneer of preventive health and longevity, Palace Merano marks its 120th anniversary with a celebration of music, sporting achievement and three decades of loyalty from one of its most distinguished guests.

In October 2026, Palace Merano marked 120 years of hospitality with a weekend of celebrations bringing together music, sport and the history of one of South Tyrol's most recognisable establishments. The programme, organised in close collaboration with the City of Merano, included a gala concert with the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation at the Teatro Puccini and a public ceremony honouring Zinédine Zidane, who has maintained a relationship with the hotel and the town for three decades.

The anniversary carried a particular significance: 2026 also marks 30 years since Zidane first visited Palace Merano and the first anniversary of his official appointment as the hotel's ambassador in 2025. Together, these milestones provided an opportunity to reflect on the hotel's evolution from a Belle Époque grand hotel into what it describes as Italy's first Medical Spa, with a contemporary focus on preventive healthcare and longevity.

A Musical Tribute to Luciano Pavarotti

The celebrations opened on Friday, 9 October, with Crossover Night: A Borderless Music, Between Opera and Pop, an evening at the Teatro Puccini dedicated to the connection between Palace Merano, Luciano Pavarotti and the city itself.

For many years, the celebrated tenor had been a regular guest at the hotel, visiting Merano for periods of rest, treatment and wellbeing. His personal attachment to the establishment made the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation a fitting partner for the anniversary programme. In 2017, ten years after his death, the Foundation and its president, Nicoletta Mantovani, had already chosen Merano for a commemorative concert at the Kursaal.

The 2026 performance brought together three young artists supported by the Foundation: tenor Francesco Lucii, soprano Eva Macaggi and pop singer Enrico Zoni, accompanied by an ensemble from the Orchestra Fondazione Luciano Pavarotti. Their programme moved between opera and Italian and international popular music, drawing inspiration from the spirit of the Pavarotti & Friends concerts.

Works including Vivo per lei, Miserere, Il cielo in una stanza and Caruso formed part of an evening designed to connect different musical traditions and generations.

Representatives of the hotel and the city also addressed the gathering, including Palace Merano CEO Stefano Plotegher, Scientific Director of the Revital® Method Dr Massimiliano Mayrhofer, General Manager Maximilian Newiger, Merano Mayor Katharina Zeller and Nicoletta Mantovani. Zidane was among the guests attending the concert.

Zinédine Zidane: Thirty Years of Loyalty

On Saturday, 10 October, the focus shifted to the Pavillon des Fleurs in Merano, where the city organised a public ceremony in honour of Zinédine Zidane. Attended by municipal representatives, former professional footballers and young players from local football schools, the event recognised his longstanding connection with the destination.

In conversation with sports journalist Stefano Bizzotto, Zidane reflected on his career and the importance of ambition, discipline and perseverance. Addressing the young footballers in attendance, he spoke about the role of hard work and determination in turning childhood dreams into reality.

Following the discussion, he spent time meeting the young participants, signing autographs and posing for photographs. The municipality subsequently presented him with the Premio Fedeltà Città di Merano, an award recognising his three decades of attachment to the town. The distinction took the form of a specially commissioned artwork by Merano-based artist Ulrich Egger, inspired by decorative details from the hotel's historic rooms.

Zidane's relationship with Palace Merano began in 1996, at a pivotal moment in his football career. Having completed a physically demanding European Championship and experienced a car accident, he was preparing to leave Girondins de Bordeaux for Juventus. Before beginning this new chapter, he wanted to recover and rebuild his physical condition.

Introduced to the hotel through his friend and adviser Alain Migliaccio, who was already familiar with the treatments available in Merano, Zidane discovered an approach that combined rest, nutrition, personalised treatments and physical recovery.

He subsequently returned regularly, first throughout his playing career and later during his years as a manager. Over time, the demands of professional sport changed, as did the ways in which he approached physical conditioning and recovery. Yet the importance of maintaining health and balance over the long term remained central to his philosophy.

For Zidane, the relationship has always extended beyond the treatments themselves. The continuity of the team, the familiar faces of therapists and the natural surroundings of Merano have become an integral part of the experience. He has described the hotel's strengths in three words: its team, wellbeing and nature.

In 2025, this longstanding relationship became an official collaboration, with Zidane taking on the role of Palace Merano ambassador. The 2026 anniversary therefore brought together three milestones: the hotel's 120 years, Zidane's 30 years of loyalty and the first year of their formal partnership.

A Work of Art to Mark the Anniversary

The celebrations also inspired French artist Marie-Amélie Chéreau, who has been a regular guest at Palace Merano for ten years. To mark the occasion, she created 5.9 Healing, an oil painting measuring 160 by 120 centimetres.

Inspired by her personal experience of the establishment and verse 5:9 of the Gospel of John, the work was presented to the hotel as a permanent gift. Its addition to the property establishes another personal connection between the anniversary and the people whose experiences have become part of its history.

From Belle Époque Grandeur to Preventive Health

The story of Palace Merano is closely connected to the development of Merano itself as a European destination for health retreats and leisure. During the 19th century, the town attracted members of European aristocracy, among them Empress Elisabeth of Austria, widely known as Sissi.

From 1870 onwards, the Empress visited Merano with her daughters, staying at Trauttmansdorff Castle and becoming an important figure in the destination's growing reputation. The region's mild Alpine-Mediterranean climate, mountain landscapes and natural surroundings helped establish its appeal among international visitors.

Against this backdrop, entrepreneur Peter Delugan envisioned a grand hotel capable of welcoming the increasingly international clientele. Built in just 18 months, Palace Merano opened in March 1906, embracing the architectural elegance and hospitality traditions of the Belle Époque. Among its early distinguished guests were Franz Kafka and Thomas Mann.

The hotel's history subsequently reflected the wider upheavals of the 20th century. During the Second World War, it was converted into a military hospital before gradually returning to its original hospitality purpose.

A new direction began to emerge in 1994, when Palace Merano started developing a concept centred on treatment, prevention and a more integrated approach to health. In 2000, it formalised its Detox Method, based on personalised programmes combining different therapeutic disciplines.

A significant new chapter followed in 2005, when entrepreneur Pietro Tosolini acquired the property. A programme of investment and renovation gradually transformed the accommodation, communal areas, spa, swimming pool and fitness facilities, while retaining the building's historical character.

In 2015, the Revital® Centre was established. Five years later, the original Detox Method evolved into the Méthode Revital®, the name now associated with the hotel's philosophy of personalised preventive health and longevity.

Today, the Revital® Centre occupies 6,000 square metres, including a 1,500-square-metre medical department dedicated to diagnostics and individual programmes. Its facilities bring together medical assessments, functional and integrative medicine, nutrition, physical recovery and spa treatments.

The hotel's ongoing development has also introduced dedicated facilities for sports performance and recovery. Opened in 2025, the Sport Recovery Lab extends the offering to professional athletes, recreational sports enthusiasts and those seeking to rebuild physical strength and function following injury.

The Revital® philosophy combines elements of Western medical practice with principles drawn from Traditional Chinese Medicine. Its programmes are tailored to individual requirements and integrate medical consultations, diagnostic assessments, nutrition and complementary treatments. This approach reflects the establishment's ambition to position preventive health as a long-term commitment rather than an isolated retreat.

The Significance of 120 Years

The anniversary also carries a symbolic connection to one of the philosophical traditions underpinning the Revital® Method. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, 120 years are associated with the upper horizon of a long and fulfilled human life. The number also corresponds to two complete 60-year cycles of the traditional Chinese calendar.

For Palace Merano, this symbolism offers a natural interpretation of its anniversary: the completion of one significant cycle and the beginning of another.

From Sissi's visits to Merano and Luciano Pavarotti's longstanding connection with the hotel to Zidane's three decades of loyalty, the establishment's history has been shaped not only by architectural changes and new medical facilities, but also by the people who have chosen to return.

The October celebrations brought these different chapters together through music, sport, art and local heritage. After 120 years, Palace Merano continues to evolve while maintaining its connection to the destination and its distinctive approach to hospitality, health and wellbeing.