Villa Malaparte – the mysterious house on the rocks of Capri
Villa Curzio Malaparte
Villa Malaparte or Casa Malaparte is a private home that belonged to the writer Curzio Malaparte and was designed by the architect Adalberto Libera. Erected in 1938, the building is located on the coast of the island of Capri, in the Gulf of Naples, emerges from the harsh rocks of Punta Massullo, along the walk of Pizzolungo, and still represents one of the greatest works of Italian rationalism.
The writer Curzio Malaparte contributed greatly to the realization of the Villa, that seems to stand right by the sea as a sort of big wreck on the rock, and here he wrote part of one of his most important novels, Kaputt. Also called Casa come me, It was used as the set of Contempt by Jean-Luc Godard, the film with Brigitte Bardot and Michel Piccoli, and The Skin, that Liliana Cavani adapted from the novel by Malaparte. The film has helped boost even more the charm of this place; Villa Malaparte in fact is on the poster of the Cannes Film Festival 2016 and portrays right a Contempt scene.
PHOTO: wikimedia.org
The Pompeian red of the exterior of the villa creates contrast with the blue sea below, the contrast is an element found also inside the house indeed: the central fireplace has inside another window facing west, towards the “Faraglioni” (stacks). In winter the setting sun lights the fire and the smoke playing with them. The entire house has a T pattern on several levels: there is a large living room with four windows on the walls to give the different views of the place, the bedroom, a guest apartment called l’ospizio, while la favorita, was the suite of the girlfriend of the moment, while at the bottom there is the writer’s study.
PHOTO: wikimedia.org
The greatness of this building lies in being fully in harmony with the surrounding nature, with its parallelepiped shape that seems a continuation of the underlying rock. The large terrace at the top of the stairs has an undulating floor and is completely without balustrades, offering a breathtaking scenery. The villa is not open to the public and today is owned by the Fondazione Giorgio Ronchi. Curzio Malaparte wanted to make the place a foundation that would give hospitality to Chinese artists, as an act of gratitude to the East, and specifically in order to strengthen the relationship between the West and the East.
