The first hotelier in the family was grandfather Cavaliere Luigi Nardi, of Venetian extraction. During his working lifetime, he managed the Grand Hotel Minerva in Rome, the Continentale at Salsomaggiore, the Grand Hotel Savoy in Sanremo, and the Grand Hotel Milano at Brunate (Como).

His son, Commendatore Bartolomeo Nardi, Luigi and Arcangelo's father in 1982 won the European "Tourism Leader" Award in Rome, as an acknowledgement for his activity and effective contribution to tourism and the food service sector.

The Hotel de la Ville building, opposite Monza’s Royal Palace, was already in existence - as the “Ristorante Eden” - in 1800, as evidenced by some end-of the-century postcards belonging to a Monzese collector.

After the assassination of King Umberto I, which took place a few hundred metres away on July 29 1900, the building was renovated and given the name of "Eden Hotel Savoia". It kept this name until the early 1950's, when it became - after further renovation - "Hotel de la Ville".