With its wonderful garden reaching as far as the seashore, La Cocumella has been residence of the Jesuits since 1637, while from 1777 it became first an inn and then a hotel.
In 1978, the building was expertly restored by the architect Nino del Papa, who transformed it into the enchanting estate we see today.
The antique cloisters with a private church, elegant rooms, peaceful gardens, spectacular terrace and evocative caves descending towards the seafront have hosted the most illustrious travellers of the Grand Tour, from Goethe to Mary Shelley, Hans Christian Andersen to Sigmund Freud over the centuries. Even today, this location resonates with history and art from centuries ago.
The origin of the name is uncertain: it may have derived from the nymph Colomeide or from the family \"Cocumella\", originally from Corfu. One intriguing idea is that the name came from the terracotta vases used to carry water to Capri on behalf of the emperor Tiberius,\"cuccume\".
Sono numerose anche le leggende che ruotano attorno all'Hotel La Cocumella: si narra ad esempio che in un muro dell'albergo l'ultima amante di Shelley, Claire Jane Clairmont, abbia nascosto una teca che conteneva il cuore del poeta, avuto in dono da Byron che lo strappò dal corpo dell'amico affogato a Lerici.
