Capri Mare Club

Capri and its Blue Grotto - Italy's Legends by the Sea

Capri was already in ancient times a place for the rich and beautiful. Today Capri is one of the most famous islands in the world. Millions of tourists visit it. But there are in fact still unknown corners on the island in the Gulf of Naples.

Thus, at the very top of Capri, there is a hermit monastery with a view to the Vesuvius. Vittorio Staiano and Carmine Russo have to ring the bells at exactly twelve o'clock. But the way to the monastery is not so easy, a chair lift and a steep path await them; as a reward, a good coffee in the chapel beckons with heavenly peace.

In the hustle and bustle that reigns among them, Michele Balsamo gets his jewel back into shape. He is the proud winner of the Vespa Club. His Ape tricycle transporter with curtains, jukeboxes and romantic lighting has been voted the most beautiful on the island.

The most famous spot of Capri is not on the island, but below it: La Grotta Azzurra. When the sea is calm, Roberto rows tourists into the Blue Grotto in a tiny boat and sings in phenomenal acoustics, waiting for a decent tip. There is competition for the paying guests. Word has long since got around which nationalities are particularly generous and which are not.

Opposite Capri is the Amalfi Coast. Legendary places like Sorrento or Positano lie on the steep coast between Naples and Salerno. Who wants to build on this panorama road, calls Giovanni Bottone. He runs a transport company with mules and is well known. He is in charge of several construction sites at the same time, all of which can only be reached by stairs. It is often necessary to climb over 500 steps. Then only Giovanni's animals carry bricks or mortar. But there are also places where not even his donkeys can get to.

The small bay Conca dei Marini can only be reached from the water. There, the Lauritanos run the restaurant La Tonnarella. In former times the tuna fish were gathered here, since the 1950s they were not seen here anymore. But Jacky Kennedy came as a guest to the bay and ate a pasta in the beach cottage of Umberto. That was the beginning of the restaurant. Today Umbertos young granddaughters run the shop with the difficult logistics and the risk that not one guest will come in rough seas.

The Morvillo fishing family also depends on the weather. They are the only ones on the coast who are allowed to fetch Gamberetti from the sea. Her catch is so coveted that it is sold directly from the cutter. The director of the Marine National Park makes sure that this family remains the only shrimp fisher. He also uses the so-called sea sweeper every day, a floating rust bucket that collects garbage between Sorrento and Amalfi.

Maria Cirillo trains with her rescue dogs in the place that gave the coast its name. She makes Golden Retriever get people who threaten to drown out of the water. But before the work begins, there is a coffee at the bar and a round of cornetti for the dogs. Who knows what will happen on the busy beach?

La Fontelina Capri

Un estratto del reportage su Capri della giornalista spagnola Maria de Leon Castillejo dove compare la Fontelina.

La Fontelina
Località Faraglioni
80073 Capri (NA) ITALY
Tel. +39 081 8370845
info@fontelina-capri.com