Historic and Period Hotels: Naples, Amalfi, Sorrento, more

Hotel Vesuvio. Naples

Unquestionably a premiere hotel of its time, The Grand Vesuvio began to attract famous late-nineteenth century figures almost from the monent the paint had dried. In fact, it has remained popular with celebrities ever since.

Early icons to check in included Oscar Wilde and Guy de Maupassant, with the former recalling the view from the balcony as the most pleasant memory of his stay in the city. However, the hotel’s most enduring historical connection is to the great tenor Enrico Caruso who made the hotel his casa napoletano (Neopolitan home). In fact, it would be in his suite at the Hotel de Vesuve in which he would prematurely die aged 48 from peritonitis on August 2, 1921.

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Grand Hotel Parker’s. Naples

Recently restored, The Grand Hotel Parkers is a building dating back to only the late 1800’s. However, despite its relative lack of age in Nights In The Past terms, it has managed to attract some extremely high profile guests in its century-old existence -.and given its position overlooking the Bay of Naples with Vesuvius in the background it’s easy to understand why. Today, the hotel features over 70 bedrooms, 9 suites and a “Presidential Suite.

Creative-types seem to have a particular association with the hotel: George Bernard Shaw, Virginia Woolf and Oscar Wilde among them. A certain Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, also stayed here. Tripadvisor | LateRooms

Hotel Luna Convento. Amalfi

If it’s location-location-location then the Hotel Luna Convento is in the first-division of European coastal accommodation premises. Centred around a cloister founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1222 (beat that for history), the present day hotel is very much the romantic retreat. The Torre Suite (in an ancient guard tower) was frequented by such Hollywood luminaries as Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

But if its sheer age isn’t enough to impress, then its hypothetical guestbook should be: the names of Wagner, Ibsen, Bismark and a certain Benito Mussolini would be found there. Tripadvisor | Expedia

Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria. Sorrento

Small wonder that the hotel attracted, and continues to attract, the rich & famous: few have such magnificent views over the Bay of Naples as the Excelsior Vittoria – Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Sophia Loren all stayed here during the fifties and sixties. From a more historic perspective, though, there is a distinctively musical theme, with the hotel having played host to both Enrico Caruso and Richard Wagner.

Built in 1834, the hotel has been owned and managed by the Fiorentino family - one of very few founding hotelier families remaining in Italy today. Tripadvisor | Expedia

Imperial Hotel. Sorrento

There’s a strong literary theme to the list of great names to have rested at The Imperial Hotel. In fact, the west wing of the building is itself said to be the birthplace of the celebrated Italian poet Torquato Tasso (March 11, 1544).

One can almost overlook the fact that the hotel has played host to numerous monarchs, Edward VII and Queen Wilhelmena of Holland among them. It is, after all, the impressive array of poets and authors which catches the eye. James Fenimore Cooper lived here while writing his famous work The Water Witch, as did Harriet Beecher Stowe who was moved to write Agnes of Sorrento. It was also the place in which Henrik Ibsen completed his great play Ghosts in 1881.

Then there are the great poets: John Keats, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Sir Walter Scott, Alphonse de Lamartine and Alfred de Musset.

And if that were not impressive enough, it is even said that John Milton visited while travelling through Italy during the seventeenth century. Tripadvisor | Expedia

Hotel Palumbo. Ravello

Named after its founder, Pasquale Palumbo, who, together with his wife, opened the very first Hotel Palumbo in Ravello in 1875, the hotel has attracted numerous Hollywood celebrities in its time: Gina Lollobrigida and Ingrid Bergman to name but two.

However, the most historic figure to have sojourned at the then Villa Episcopio is undoubtedly Richard Wagner. Indeed, the piano upon which he would compose new works while staying at the hotel is still very much in use. Tripadvisor | Expedia

Amalfi

Grand Hotel Convento di Amalfi. Created from a 12th century monastery, this luxurious hotel overlooks some of the most magnificent coastal scenery in the world. Recently restored, this could well be one of the most romantic places to stay in Italy. LateRooms | Expedia | Hotel's Own Website

Il Saraceno Grand Hotel. Originally built in 1543, this was the property of the Sultan, Suleiman II. It still has the same magnificent vistas he would have enjoyed, and the five-star hospitality is something of which he would also have approved. LateRooms | Expedia

Amalfi Coast ~ Santa Maria di Castellabate

Palazzo Belmonte. A splendid 17th century Italian coastal house offering 5 suites. Expedia

Maratea (Calabria)

La Locanda delle Donne Monache. This was once a convent of the Visintandine nuns during the 18th century, but you can be sure there wasn’t a swimming pool back then. This luxurious hotel offers 18 rooms and suites and is within easy reach of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Expedia

Massa Lubrense (Bay of Naples)

Lubra Casa Relax. Parts of this pretty house date back to the 16th century, and many of its original features are still to be seen. Very much a boutique hotel, Lubra Casa Relax offers six rooms, each of which is named after the mermaids said to have bewitched Ulysses in the nearby waters of the Bay of Naples: Partenope, Ligea, Leucosia, Telete, Redne and Molpe. Romantic in anyone’s language. Expedia

Matera (Basilicata)

Hotel Sant’ Angelo. Effectively a resort - but in the best sense of the word - this is a collection of historic buildings, most of which are cut into the rocks themselves. Rather unique and beguiling. LateRooms | Expedia

Naples

Hotel San Francesco al Monte. Some of the 16th century fabric of this building is still very much in evidence - restored frescoes included. This historic hotel benefits from excellent views of the city of Naples and the gulf, and offers a total of 44 guest rooms. One of its restaurants has been created from the ancient wine cellar which harks back to its days as a monastery. Expedia

Ostuni (Puglia)

La Sommita. This former palace dating back to the 16th century has been recently converted into a chic boutique hotel. It offers ten rooms in total, including three suites. Mr and Mrs Smith

More period and historic accommodation in southern Italy coming soon. Please check back

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