In 1786 Goethe left Germany to start the Grand Tour he would then chronicle in his Italian Journey book. For twenty years the Cocumella Convent in Sorrento had already been the preferred abode of those great minds and noblemen that departed from Northern Europe to rediscover classical worlds, Hellenistic harmony and the rustic beauty of a pristine Italy.
To reach Sorrento, at the time, it was necessary to rely on tartan boats of fishermen and merchants. One could also tread upon - after seeing the wonders of the Borbonic Miglio d’Oro route - adventurous if not dangerous paths around Mount Vesuvius, the first excavations in Pompei, passes on Mount Fait and Seiano’s Cleave: there simply was no other way.
But the journey was worth all the risks and trouble. The destination was located in an untainted natural Eden on Earth.
The Convent hosted the peace of mind of religious men dedicated to mediation and theological speculation, but also the spirit of the Enlightenment and Romanticism movements that tried to balance the glimpse of the Modern age with the unity of the classical world.
The Grand Hotel Cocumella was there, where it is still today, surrounded by its century-old garden, with its salons, sea terraces, orange grove and its unique atmosphere, ready to welcome the special travelers that have chosen to visit this place.
Yesterday and today, for the last two hundred and fifty years, Grand Hotel Cocumella guests are unique: from Goethe to Mary Shelley, from Byron to Marion Crawford; from an exiled Neruda to the Prince of Thailand that rules today; from Renata Tebaldi and her loyal companion signorina Tina, her friend-governess-heir and curator of her memories to Pink Floyd - who just played their Pompei concert; and, of course, the international soccer stars like Mertens and De Bruyne.
The Grand Tour has changed manners, people and traits, but it still exists as a search for an Eden that knows how to be a universal remedy for restless souls. Even the center of that Eden still exists, identical in its original spirit: the Cocumella. Not a Convent anymore, but a welcoming, pleasant, discrete and aristocratic five-star hotel, immersed in its rare beauty. Like the beauty of its guests: each one of them is unique and special, at the center of their very own Grand Tour of life.
