Naples Greatest Hidden Secret: Casa D’Anna ai Cristallini
There are locations the place we arrive, and the expectation of discovering a well-kept secret features power by the easy distinction of what’s but to be revealed. Casa D’Anna ai Cristallini in Naples, Italy, is an instance of this. Not solely as a result of it’s situated outdoors of the reserving platforms, however as a result of this whole visitor home is a pleasant shock for the senses.
Intimate Areas Stuffed with Rarity
Positioned within the Rione Sanità neighborhood, just some minutes from the historic middle of Naples, Casa D’Anna ai Cristallini is a small guesthouse that, regardless of having solely 5 rooms, feels extra like a “cupboard of curiosities”.
Upon arrival, the scene is intriguing because the poorly maintained constructing nonetheless doesn’t reveal the treasures that its inside homes. As we enter, we depart behind the cacophony of one of the crucial genuine and vibrant neighborhoods in Naples. A spot stuffed with fruit stalls and noisy cafes, and as soon as a block of noble palaces. The highway the place Casa D’Anna resides was the route that the Courtroom took to the Capodimonte Palace, the summer time residence of the Bourbon household of the Two Sicilies. The world additionally housed artisan outlets, particularly these of the normal crystal masters, who gave their title to the road, Through dei Cristallini.
Just some metres away is a jewel of Italian Baroque, the staircase of the Palazzo del Spagnuolo, seen again and again in images, and which now, after we come throughout it lined in Adam’s Rib vines, fascinates us with its decadent, usually Neapolitan magnificence.
Standing in entrance of the Casa D’Anna ai Cristallini, one wonders whether or not now we have truly arrived on the proper place. Whereas there aren’t any indicators to be seen from the skin, we might be removed from guessing that this was as soon as a Baroque constructing from the early sixteenth century, often known as the Palazzo Giannattasio.
Inside Casa D’Anna ai Cristallini
Upon coming into, all the things modifications. The employees compensates for the dearth of an elevator by serving to with baggage as much as the second ground. The magic of the place is about to disclose itself. On the high of the staircase, double picket and glass doorways open scenically onto a corridor painted Pompeii pink. The black and white marble ground in “damier” fashion reminds us of a Vermeer portray.
Right here, Maison Trudon candles burn all through the day, continuously suspending a heat aroma within the air. Opera arias and jazz themes echo from the partitions lined in classical work—no object positioned at random. The attention wanders over probably the most uncommon items on tables and armoires masterfully curated with all types of objects: vintage binoculars, rococo mirrors, Roman busts, Greek ceramics, tulip vases, and a profusion of artwork books for the company’ enjoyment.
At Casa D’Anna, we really feel like we’re on the house of some well-travelled buddies, in a form of refuge for just a few fortunate flâneurs.
Rooms to Immerse Your self In
The lodge has simply 5 rooms, every paying homage to one of many islands within the Gulf of Naples: Ischia, Capri, Procida, Nisida, after which the much more northern island of Palmarola. The decor modifications from room to room, and in all of them, the intelligent use of mirrors and glass reflecting the inside courtyard helps circumvent the rooms’ small scale, stunning you.
The sensation of luxurious welcome is full with Pierre Frey materials within the curtains and cushions, partitions painted in Farrow & Ball, ground tiles by Vietri, the ceramics capital of the Amalfi Coast, and toiletries by Ortigia Sicilia, the Italian luxurious soaps and skincare model.
The place Antiquity Meets Haute Hospitality
Simply as vital because the interiors is the presence of the hostess, the passionate Alessandra Calise Martuscelli, who’s dedicated to preserving the intimate and genuine character of the traditional palace.
One other focal point of the lodge is the underground ruins of a Greek necropolis courting again greater than two millennia. Found in 1889 within the basement of an adjoining constructing inherited by the Martuscelli household, to which Alessandra’s husband belongs. The 4 completely preserved and richly embellished burial chambers enable guided excursions with a restrict of fifty individuals per day. Taking you on a journey again 2,300 years to the time when Naples was nonetheless a Greek metropolis.
The restoration of the ruins has created a way of neighborhood in a once-neglected neighborhood that Alessandra has now revitalized. The heat with which shopkeepers and residents of the Rione-Sanitá neighborhood greet our host throughout our customized tour is obvious, from the daughter of a former Mafia boss to the proprietor of Poppella patisserie, who makes unforgettable “fiocco di neve.”
Casa d’Anna ai Cristallini is just not a lodge; it’s a cupboard of curiosities within the type of lodging, a reminiscence financial institution the place objects appear to speak to one another in a dialogue to not be missed on a future journey to Naples.
Go to Casa D’Anna ai Cristallini
Phrases by Rita Jardim
Characteristic Picture Courtesy of Casa D’Anna ai Cristallini
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