AUGUST 2011

SIMPLY HEAVENLY

08012011 Capresians have a knack for engineering gorgeous cliffside villas, and this 20-room jewel is no exception. Built as ten floors on a narrow lot that overlooks the bay, Villa Brunella requires a Stairmaster-like effort to reach guest rooms and the pool. But the hospitality of the Ruggiero family, who've run this charming inn since 1963 with great flair and friendliness, makes it worth the sweat. Villa Brunella in Capri Hotels | Concierge.com
08022011 What are you supposed to eat in Italy besides gelato? Pizza, of course. What’s the best way to spot the best pizzeria in town? Make sure its swarming with Italians. Brilliant. Dismayed, we went to the train station to head to our last destination, Naples. rome&pompeii | {musings}
08032011 The Joanot Martorell year, commemorating the 600 anniversary of the birth of the author and Valencian knight "Tirant lo Blanch" - ends with an outstanding show that evokes the atmosphere of chivalry. Through more than a hundred works of art and objects, the exhibition starts in the court of Alfonso the Magnanimous in Valencia and Naples and then moves on to the English court of Westminster. The 600th Anniversary of Knight Joanot Martorell | artdaily.org
08042011 The exhibition, curated by Massimo Bignardi, presents eighteen paintings Ruta completed in Positano, Rome, Naples and Venice between 1949 and 1962, along with drawings and gouaches the artist, now ninety-one years of age, completed during several recent trips to the Amalfi Coast. Peter Ruta: Positano and Other Italian Paintings | artdaily.org
08052011 Your TOP 3 hotel experiences: One&Only, Royal Mirage, Dubai, UAE; Huis ter Duin, Noordwijk, NL; Punta Tragara, Capri, I. Interview with Darjono Husodo (GM Antiq Hotel) | The Ring Hotel Blog
08062011 Swimming in Laurito’s crystal waters or just floating on an inflatable raft can build quite an appetite. So, tucked away just above the beach is Adolfo’s restaurant terrace. You don’t even need to dry off–eating in your bathing suit is a given here. With your back to the water, Adolfo is the place on the right: flames shooting out of the grill on the cliff side, and serves the few informal tables barefoot. Secret and Secluded Amalfi Coast Beach | The Travel Belles
08072011 We had another unbelievable lunch, this time at Add’o Riccio, a beautiful seafood restaurant overlooking the water right near the Blue Grotto. The food has been so outstanding here whether it be pasta, seafood, vegetables or fruit, that I am totally reevaluating my bar height for delicious. I feel like crying with joy every meal. Their desserts aren’t so hot, but I don’t eat or need them anyway. Isle of Capri | JetSetWay
08082011 A Luxury Spa fragrance! Wisk away to Capri Island, a breath-taking paradise overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Your mind will embrace this cultural encounter, while your soul attains pure harmony. Capri is a culturally complex aorma of tart Japanese grapefruit, fresh Osmanthus (sweet olive) and dew covered watercress followed by middle notes of rose, jasmine and cassis. To create subtle ecstasy, Capri sits on a dry down of fresh amber and myrrh. Capri Scented Soy Candle ! Scents of St. Augustine
08092011 The fresco was found during restoration work at the Catacombs of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius) in the southern port city of Naples by experts from the Pontifical Commission. "The image of St Paul has an intense expression, philosophical." The figure is dressed in white and beige robes and with the letter 'I' on the hem, which may stand for 'Iesus' (Latin for Jesus) and it shows him approaching a dead person. 1,400-year-old St Paul fresco discovered in ancient Roman catacomb | The Telegraph
08102011 Isaia, a family-owned fashion house that began in Naples in the 1950s, specializes in custom suits for “confident men who like what they are wearing,” says Jim Shay, the company’s vice president. “They have roots in classic style but want to look current and cool. They have the ability to play with color and pattern in their attire and find Isaia’s attention to detail results in an elegant garment.” Treat Him Right | CBS Watch
08112011 Laino, a native Briton, but whose family is Italian, began his career in hotels when he was 17. He followed a girlfriend to Italy, where he got a job in Positano at the Hotel San Pietro. (His uncle was the head chef there; Laino still calls it his favorite hotel in the world.) It landed at The Stafford, which, unlike The Dorchester or The Ritz, is not as well known. Frank Laino, head concierge, The Stafford Hotel | Luxury Travel Advisor
08122011 Santa Monica Seafood is owned by the Cigliano’s, a family tracing its California roots back to the end of the 19th century. John Deluca, arrived from Naples, Italy in 1898. The families first location was on the Santa Monica Pier, where they sold shark, halibut, tuna, white sea bass, sardines, anchovies, live lobsters and the "catch of the day" to the hungry tourists visiting the pier. Come Sea It | Beach House Finds
08132011 We used to think of Naples merely as a place to pass through on the way to somewhere else—Capri, Sorrento or the Amalfi Coast to name a few. Recently we discovered what the Italians have always known: Naples is essential to experiencing the true Italy. Naples, Italy Boutique Hotels | Luxury Travel Advisor
08142011Where is your favourite place to eat breakfast and what do you have? I’m really in to solitary breakfasts sat on my roof reading a travel guide with a strong, strong caffetiere. The best breakfast I ever ate though was at the Casa Privata in Amalfi, Italy, they had about 20 different types of jam, including kiwi. Faye Dunaway's post-Oscar Breakfast | AnOther
08152011 On Saturday, we headed out to take in the smelly air of Volcano Solfatara. Volcano Solfatara is located in Pozzuoli and is less than 5 miles from our home. It is a dormant volcano, which admits jets of sulphurous fumes from vents throughout the crater. It last erupted in 1198. We've been talking about visiting the Solfatara for a while, so Saturday was the day we decided to have a close encounter with some gas. Close Encounter | Gibsonchop
08162011 Almost 150 years after Fiorelli made his first cast, artist Gary Staab was commissioned to make models of four original Pompeian casts for a special exhibition on Pompeii in New York (“Vesuvius Strikes Again,” May/June, 2011). In doing so, Staab created a new type of evidence. His models record not only these individuals’ deaths, but also the context in which the original casts were fashioned. Pompeii's Dead Reimagined | Archaeology.org
08172011 The outward appearance of the city of Naples is not welcoming. Yet the physical setting is incomparable. Nineteenth-century travelers considered the city, its bay, and its islands—chiefly Capri and Ischia—among the most beautiful spots in Europe. Naples’s vaguely Third World exterior conceals a delightfully Old World interior. Apart from the ubiquitous scooters and cell phones, modernity seems to have had little effect. There are no chain stores, no fast food, no tourist restaurants—and virtually no tourists. Gritty Grandeur | City Journal
08182011 Some call it "Italy's Mozzarella Paradise." About an hour south of Rome, drive along a country road and find numerous mozzarella dairies, or "caseificios," and watch firsthand how this Italian delicacy is made. Afterwards visit the nearby ruins of Paestum, a Greek colony founded around 600 B.C. featuring three majestic Doric-columned temples. Vacation Hidden Gems | The Huffington Post
08192011 Fifty miles south of Naples, on the western Italian coast, lie the ruins of the ancient Greek colony of Poseidonia, now known by its Roman name, Paestum. They "constitute the best-preserved 'population' of temples of any Greek city, save possibly Athens," says Brown University archaeologist R. Ross Holloway. Rediscovering Paestum | Archaeology.org
08202011 Capri, like many islands, has always colluded in its own secretiveness. The Villa Jovis of Tiberius still stands at its eastern tip, and all over its cliffs of ilex stand the empty villas of the Belle Époque, when Capri was not only the gay capital of Europe but a sanctuary from an increasingly violent and industrialized continent. It was a place where eccentrics and wealthy fantasists could exorcize their demons. The Island of Love | The Daily Beast
08212011 In the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria in Sorrento, chef Vincenzo Galano is also using ingredients normally found on the starter and main course pages of the menu. Fennel seeds are steeped in hot cream to make a silky, aniseed concoction. In another, buffalo mozzarella is mixed with yogurt, lemons and squeezed olives to produce a creamy, fresh gelato. We All Scream for Gelato | The Wall Street Journal
08222011 There are only two real anchorages on the island, the first being just off Marina Grande (Big Marina), where gazillions of day-trippers are on and off-loaded everyday. The second is Marina Piccolo (Little Marina) on the other side of the island. The shot of Marina Grande indicates just how sheer some of the island's cliffs are. Photos of the Day July 5 - Capri, Italy | Latitude 38
08232011 Tod’s launched an exhibition showcasing Jackie Kennedy pictures taken by the photographer Settimio Garritano during her holidays in Capri in the early seventies. The exhibition is a celebration of the unique style of Jackie Kennedy which Tod’s have aimed to capture in a line of limited-edition products inspired by the island of Capri. Tod’s Jackie’s Capri exhibition | livin cool
08242011 The exhibition, Return to Baroque - The Golden Age of Neapolitan Art, that runs at the Beijing World Art Museum until Sept 15, features 40 oil paintings from Italy's National Museum of Capodimonte in Naples, previously a Bourbon palace and now one of the best museums in Italy with a rich collection of paintings of the Neapolitan School, from the 13th to the 18th century. Humanity and desire focus of Baroque period art on show | China Daily
08252011 Bruegel's political convictions remain unknown. Modern scholars are also unable to determine his religious beliefs. Bruegel probably viewed organized religion as an obstacle between man and God; his “Parable of the Blind”, also known as “The Blind Leading the Blind” (1568; Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples) may be interpreted as illustrating this idea. Pieter Bruegel the Elder | famousbelgians.net
08262011 These agile, oddly nimble sculptures are the work of Pasquale Pennacchio and Marisa Argentato, two Naples–based artists operating here, in their U.S. debut, as Pennacchio Argentato. On the wall next to every arc, the pair has hung a photograph of Arnold Schwarzenegger, scantily clad, with muscles bulging, shot decades before his move into politics. Pennacchio Argentato | ARTINFO.com
08272011 Naples, Italy: “The documentary driven workshop will be a week long groundbreaking radical event in its 24 hour intense focus as Donna with her students set out to discover together what makes the Naples one of the most awesomely terrifying cities in Europe. Be prepared. Doors will open for you and you will enter with your camera. Donna Ferrato’s Diva Documentary Tour | MediaStorm
08282011 Many Neapolitans still make the sign of the cross as they pass this deliciously creepy little museum, where in the 18th century, the inventor and Prince Raimondo di Sangro carried out his weird experiments. How he managed to embalm two figures – one male and one female – in such a way that the flesh fell off to reveal the petrified bones, veins and arteries, has never been ascertained, though ghoulish stories abound. Italy's best small museums | The Telegraph
08292011 You walk slowly on the Path of the Gods high above Positano for fear of cutting a switchback short and falling over a cliff. Your imagination starts playing tricks, keeping you on the lookout for brigands and satyrs. The Lattari Mountains come to a screeching halt, in one of the great meetings of land and sea. Like Big Sur, the Amalfi Coast is a place of savage beauty, all truculence and temerity. Among the gods on the Amalfi Coast | Los Angeles Times
08302011 The cream of Pompeii's relics are preserved in Naples's Museo Archeologico Nazionale. The most interesting room at the museum is the Secret Room. It contains some of the best-preserved ruins from Pompeii, which coincidently happens to be all the naughty stuff (phallic lamps, wicked pictures and headless Roman statue with a banana under its robes) from its brothels and taverns. Diamond in the dirt | The Sydney Morning Herald
08312011 Mayer Amschel Rothschild developed a small fortune lending money and handling the shipment of bullion during the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). As his wealth grew, he dispatched his five sons to different cities throughout Europe (London, Paris, Frankfurt, Naples and Vienna) and set up a pan-European network of messengers and carrier pigeons so they could quickly gather information that might affect their investments. Five Keys to Creating an Information Advantage | Harvard Business Review