The magical yet true story of La Grotta dei Fichi starts off with an unusual graduation present: a rocky path.
This was the bizarre present given by a father to his son to congratulate him on becoming a doctor of medicine.
A long, narrow path cut out from the rocks falling sheer down to the sea.
A path where peasants used to take advantage of the constant exposure to the sun, and the natural protection from the wind and rain provided by the mountains to dry out figs on wooden pallets.
Well, what could be done with this exposed path jutting out over the sea?
The newly qualified doctor had a clear plan in mind: under his white coat there beat the heart of an architect.
Before long our young doctor is investing his first earnings in his dream: a Villa embedded into the rock, in perfect harmony with its surroundings.
Building work soon starts and our hero has joined forces with a team of workers who don’t shy away from even the riskiest of tasks to follow the guidelines of such a bold venture.
Every detail is designed in harmony with the natural heritage and beauty to be found on the Costiera. The idea is to create a dream, to make something magnificent rise up from nothing.
First, the bar area is carved out of a natural cave and then the swimming poolwith its portholes overlooking Li Galli islands, which have been hailed by many cultural personalities and chosen by Massine and Nureyev as the ideal location for one of Europe’s most prestigious dance schools.
But as we all know, sometimes it takes dreams a long time to come true. Time goes by, the project evolves. No resource is spared in the completion of La Grotta dei Fichi, the final version of which produces a genuine “architectural gem” set in the rocks. It has become a quite unique, private place far from prying eyes.
A place that is a favoured refuge for many leading figures from the world of culture and art, on the look out for an exclusive place of total tranquillity, offering top class comfort, while at the same time, surrounded by uncontaminated, wild nature.
Then the “Pensatoio” was created. A unique setting completely jutting out into the sea of Positano and isolated from the rest of the Villa and indeed from the world. A place where the only commotion entertained is the uncontrolledstream of thoughts breaking against the rocks at the foot of the Villa.
Maybe this is the very spot where the hero of our story continues planning and drafting the outlines of his dream, a dream which took 30 years to come true: along a pathway lined with obstacles, changes of direction, but of immense satisfaction too.
