When the river is no longer salt water …
The Salotto del Mondo has never stood out in nature for having rivers, streams, ponds or lakes. Here in the Salotto del mondo you don’t get drunk on fresh water. Those who have always chosen this island to laze around or to forget the cruelty and noise of the mainland have always enjoyed the sea during walks or from a terrace or window of their home. Sea everywhere, unchallenged sea, in the North as in the South, in the East as in the West, as it should be for an island, assuming that for Capri it is not the same thing. The sea of Capri is… only of Capri, for colors, emotions, panoramas, sounds and scents.
In recent years, however, this “great river of salt water”, if we want to call it that, has given way to another great mass that is not water but people, from everywhere.
At one time the Salotto del mondo enjoyed an almost unreal tranquility. Everything could seem so big that many could fit in and well. Quiet streets, quiet sea, quiet shops, quiet buses, funicular and cars. The hotels were few, the square for a few.
Those who could not afford such luxury changed course and landed in nearby Ischia, a destination of greater ‘mass’.
Today, however, the routes have reversed: everyone wants to be there or just to see our renowned island for a day. Honored, we are excited. But be careful, because if money has conquered the Salotto of the world, not all that money is “ Signore “. Remember that Capri, its “fashion” blood made of elegance, style, education and luxury cannot be bought with mere money. Many believe that matter beats substance but this island has an ancient heart which is antimatter. “Gentlemen are born” said the Prince Antonio De Curtis and Capri “was born” as well as the first guests illustrious. Never think that everything is a commodity, the illusion lasts just long enough, the mere isolated purchase in that precise temporal space surrounded by hypocrisy. Virtually everything ends there.
Having said that, it is true that the island is crowded today, we have already experienced it between April 25th and May 1st. More every year. We have no smell of politics in our living room nor do we want to “smell” of it because our blog goes further. But the sofas of the Salotto del mondo are not infinite, they are not for everyone and not for discrimination, never this, but by nature itself. This is why if they are no longer enough you will not be able to enjoy the magic that Capri is. It is not possible to sit down at all and in any case we would risk not giving the right emotions to any of those seated tightly… and so let’s not violate the suggestive charm that has been there for centuries. Let’s not ruin the historical memory and that of today’s tourists who have to leave with the desire to return. Let us not tire those who live and work there more than life in general already has to suffer. We give meaning to a serene, orderly and well-managed welcome. We make sense of the unease that can easily be unleashed, of discontent and safety for everyone.
We give meaning to the livability that has been the backbone of the island since the time of Emperor Augustus.
