BeSPOKE 07

istorante Monzù
oVerlooking the waters oF
Marina piccola.
below, two Creations
by chef luiGi lionetti
who speCialises in historiC
dishes FroM the Capri
and neapolitan traditions.
aboVe, pork in a bread CrUst
on a annUrCa apple pUrée
and pilgriM sCallops
on a bed oF orange saUCe
and a taggiasCa
blaCk oliVe pesto.
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as his private residence but both in his time and
under successive owners it was always a place
of celebrated gatherings and concerts leaving its
mark on Capri hospitality.
the mark it left on italian military and political
history was even deeper when the villa became
the rest camp for the 15th fleet of the Us airforce
after the allied landings in pontecagnano and
the location of the meeting between general
eisenhower and Clark in the run up to the allied
attack on Montecassino. Finally in 1973 the restoration
work by the Manfredi Counts made the
villa into a hotel, still with a very distinct personality
which is to be found in the many paintings on
the walls in a joyous combination of Capri style
and contemporary design furniture. but then it
could never have been otherwise and here we
are at the third ‘star’ for its fashioning by the design
genius, architect le Corbusier who loved to
call punta tragara “an emanation from the rocks,
a spin-off of the island, a vegetal phenomenon,
almost an architectural lichen which has grown
up on Capri’s side”.
this sunny building, with its many, dynamic
floors has emerged “from the rocks to form a
refuge in which to shelter one’s body, heart and
thoughts”. and this is precisely the effect it still
has today on anyone who stays overnight, suspended
in place and time with the additional
appealing feeling that you are not a client of a
grand hotel but a guest at a villa.
the credit for this rare but not unique feeling
goes to one of punta tragara’s added values, the
extraordinary welcome which its staff gives you
in a happy mixture of discretion and cordiality,
professionalism and human warmth, devotion
and respect. it is not unusual for departing clients,
both first visitors an recurrent ones, to take
a while to check out andsay goodbye not just to
this heavenly spot but also of the people who
make it such a paradise on a daily basis.
one of these is undoubtedly its young chef luigi
lionetti whose passion and great talent has
made ristorante Monzù - the neapolitan take on
the French monsieur, the monzù was the head
chef of the aristocratic estates of the xViiith century
- into one of the brightest stars of the punta
tragara firmament.
Fresh and salt water:
an aperitiF in the swiMMing
pool, a View FroM aboVe
oF one oF the hotel’s
two swiMMing pools
oVerlooking Marina
piccola, a detail
oF the penthouse terrace
and soMe oF the rooM
terraCes.
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