CapriReview_30_a.20100708104435.pdf

60 YEARS IN BUSINESSA brief history of theCapri Tourist Board, a favouritehaunt of travellersfrom all over the worldby Rossella FunghiThank you for your kind well wishes dearPatrizi STOP Nothing better than acornucopia of Capri oranges to reawaken inmy heart the strength to fight and return soon tothe island of beauty and goodness STOP Mostaffectionately Curzio Malaparte.” Marquis Patrizi,president of the Capri Tourist Board, received theabove telegram on 23 March 1957. Malaparte haddictated it to someonefrom his bed in theSanatrix private clinic inRome, where he wasbeing treated for aterminal disease, andwould die on theafternoon of 11 July. Thatbasket of oranges fromCapri had brought back toMalaparte for a momentthe fragrances of theisland he loved so much.Sending them wasprobably an instinctivegesture on the marquis’spart but, considering theoffice he held, it was alsosomething of a duty.Established on 28 February 1950 with a Ministryof the Interior decree recognizing the blue islandas a tourist resort, the Tourist Board itself was tobe an indispensable point of reference for thoseseeking information and news about Capri.The first president was the lawyer Mario Salandrawho took the helm on 1 July of the same year.Tourism was growing and there were 145,264visitors to the island between January andOctober 1951.A couple of years later another member of along-established noble family took over aspresident: Francesco Caravita, Prince ofSirignano, known as Pupetto. The prince hadsettled on Capri and, thanks to his indisputablecharms, had soon become the resident masterof ceremonies. On 29 July 1952 he wasappointed president of the Tourist Board and,with his usual elegance, proved to be anexcellent “host”, welcoming to the island theleading protagonists of the 20th century, fromWinston Churchill to Aristotle Onassis andGeneral Marshall, and movie stars like JoanCrawford and Claudette Colbert.Under his leadership, a number of somewhatoriginal projects were launched: a directseaplane route between Southampton, England,and Capri; the finals of the “Miss Europe” beautycontest, and a lonely hearts’ meeting which, asPupetto himself said, “was a complete fiascobecause everyone was so ugly, both the womenand the men. The initiative produced only onemarriage.” He fared better with the competitionfor leading Italian painters who were not familiarwith North America. Sponsored by HelenaRubinstein and organized by Irene Brin andGasparo Dal Corso, the theme was “How do youimagine the United States?” The paintings by theartists were shown first in Rome, then on Capri,and travelled to New York, Washington, Bostonand San Francisco.It was the period of la dolce vita, Capri was a realparadise and the prince did the honours on theisland of happiness until the end of January 1955.He was succeeded as head of the Tourist Boardby Marquis Patrizi on 26 February, who, like hisDocumenti e depliant degli anniCinquanta e Sessanta.Documents and brochuresfrom the Fifties and Sixties.predecessor, became part of the island’slegend.The tourist trade continued to expand andin a single decade, the Fifties, the numberof people who chose Capri for theirvacation almost doubled, rising from726,730 to 1,244,021.In the Sixties the top position at theTourist Board was occupied by theengineer Costanzo Lembo, whose sonMarzio is now a Capri town councillor. This wasthe period of the “Mare Moda” fashion showsthat attracted all the leading designers from themainland, who would later achieve worldwidesuccess under the collective “Made in Italy”label. The piazzetta became an open-air literarysalon whose habitués included Alberto Moravia,the writer, and Paolo Lecaldano, literary directorof Rizzoli. The editors of leading Italian weeklies,such as Lamberto Sechi, Giorgio Fattori,Benedetto Mosca, Tommaso Giglio and PaoloOcchipinti, also met at the tables of the barsoverlooking the square.But, as we know, everything changes. The lastpresident of the Tourist Board was the lawyerAlberto Cilento, who held the position for manyyears, from 6 August 1971 to 1 August 1995.Then the Board was administered by a series ofexternal commissioners while waiting for the lawconcerning the reorganization of the touristboards in the Campania Region to be passed,which still has to see the light of day.Capri is still here, however, with its breathtakingpanoramas, its blue sea, its fiery sunsets. And itis perhaps a little nostalgic for the marquis andthe prince.■115