Rendezvous Le Sirenuse

A moment in the sun is predestined, the experience of encountering is noteworthy. Lurching along the coastline from Naples, the road to Positano is peppered with sensations even for the unfazed. This remarkable “detour’ from my intoxicating thought train acts as a palate cleanser, a yank into the present moment albeit fragmented as I throw my weight to the left to avoid a fate to the right undetermined where teetering highway gives way to staggering cliff as the sea churns beneath.

The view alone of Positano could sink ships. Jewels of an Italian Vernacular tumble elegantly down to a small crescent form pebbled beach licked by the Mediterranean Sea. The first sight of this Neapolitan dream slices through time and space forever in my memory. As if chosen by the mythological creatures for which it is eponymously named, Le Sirenuse is far more than a spectacular seaside escape. The historic 18th century villa turned hotel in 1951 has remained in the Sersale family for over two centuries. Originally a summer home of the noble Neapolitan family, Le Sirenuse as a family affair is all the more alluring.

Bubbling from the foundation of Le Sirenuse, overseen by its gracious hosts Antonio Sersale and his wife Carla, is the invitation for la dolce vita, of the Fellini variety and impossible not to partake in. The spectator makes the picture, tourists convert to purists and the vines become blissfully entangled in the vitality of the bougainvillea and the lush squeeze of the lemon trees. Impeccably appointed antiques and family heirlooms/objets d’art rub up against site specific contemporary art commissions i.e. Sirenuse Art Projects, binding the storied past to the present scene in the most surprisingly seductive interplay.

Without a bone of pretense Antonio and Carla welcome creation, engaging in the most exciting form of collaboration, free rein, choose your own stallion. The artist’s edit, a clear identity and choice rendezvous with design, symbolism embedded, is personified in Carla’s Emporio Sirenuse. Implicitly magical, Le Sirenuse Positano signature ready-to-wear collection lays claim to another reality. Here I am on the grounds of fantasy. There is always more to be said, more to be felt, please intuit.