Roberto E. Wirth, owner of the historic Hotel Hassler in Piazza Trinità dei Monti, in Rome, died. He was 72 years old. Belonging to the fifth generation of a family of Swiss hoteliers, Roberto Wirth, profoundly deaf from birth, has always had a dream since he was a child: to manage a hotel in complete autonomy and become a great hotelier. With his tenacity, always keeping his goal in mind, he managed to make his Hassler an icon of the hotel industry worldwide. The Hassler has always been his passion and his home.
With his motto ‘Never give up’, then, over the years, he has managed to expand and develop the family business and expand his portfolio: Il Palazzetto, Parco del Principe in Tuscany, Borgo Bastia Creti in Umbria and Hotel Vannucci in Città della Pieve. “My 5 jewels”, these were and will be forever for Mr. Wirth.
His education and training experiences in Milan, at the Hotel School of Stresa and finally at Cornell University were the foundations of the great man and entrepreneur. Brilliant, attentive, far-sighted, he never stopped committing himself both for his city of Rome, where as president of the Association of via Sistina-via F. Crispi he has always fought for the redevelopment and decoration of the historic center, and for his non-profit organization Cabss.
Since 2004, with its foundation, Cabss has been supporting deaf and deafblind children aged 0 to 6 and their families. Telling and making known the stages of his life also through his biography ‘Silence was my first playmate’ – reports a note from the Hotel Hassler – he carried on his message: “Always look forward with determination and confidence. In life everything is possible and, with commitment, everyone can do it. We deaf can do everything, except hear. “In 1992 he established a ‘Fulbright – Roberto Wirth’ scholarship, giving deaf and hearing young graduates the opportunity to specialize at Gallaudet University, Washington DC (USA), in an area that benefits deaf and deafblind children in Italy. Gallaudet University is the only bilingual university in the world (American Sign Language and English), also accessible to deaf and deaf students. It will now be the task of his children, Veruschka and Roberto Jr, carry on the father’s legacy with extreme pride.
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