Capri? Closed for vacation! -

…Or maybe Neverland!

Happy to be able to celebrate their fifty years of marriage on February 2, a couple had the audacity to book three days at “La Prora Hotel” in Capri.
They left Rome and arrived in Napoli right on time on the Italo high-speed train and, taking a taxi from Napoli central station, they went to the port to take the ferry that would take them to the long-awaited Capri and precisely to the Calata Porta di Massa Maritime Station. From here they boarded and, after an hour and a half, disembarked at Marina Grande. They then went to the terminus of the famous Capri funicular where they found everything cordoned off and a sign informing customers that periodic maintenance work had begun on December 9, 2024 but, unfortunately, there was no date for its reopening. Huh!?!
At that point, together with other tourists, they decided to reach the bus station to go up to Capri. They then got off near the very famous Piazzetta, or Piazza Umberto I, a gathering point for the elite of the international artistic and cultural world. As soon as they reached it, they discovered that everything was closed. Never mind, it can happen, they thought, without even imagining the surprises they would find in the following hours.
Once they reached the hotel, they settled into their room and, after a while, they decided to go down for lunch and together with other small groups of tourists, often foreigners, they went in search of a restaurant. Too bad! In Capri, everything was closed, the only open business was the large bar da Alberto, located on the edge of the Piazzetta and at the beginning of Via Roma. The problem was linked to the fact that in the early afternoon they would have preferred to have lunch. They decided, hopefully, to wait for dinner by going down to Marina Grande in the evening. In the meantime, partly because of the tiredness of the trip and partly because of hunger, they turned to the hotel manager for advice on where to go for dinner. Unfortunately, the clerk confirmed the bad news that all the restaurants in Capri are closed, but he added that there was a fast food restaurant called Hangout. Around 6:00 pm, the couple decided to go in search of this fast food restaurant, but they couldn’t find it in the beautiful but labyrinthine alleys of Capri until they met a young man who, very kindly, accompanied them. Once inside the fast food restaurant, they were welcomed and decided, given their tiredness and hunger, to buy something to take to their room, so they ordered two hot dogs, French fries and two cold beers. Sadly, they retired to their room and toasted their 50th wedding anniversary at a small table, but luckily, with a terrace and a breathtaking view.
The next day they went down to Marina Grande in the hope of finding at least one restaurant open there. Unfortunately, there was nothing to do there either, everything was closed except for a single bar, Il Corallo, where, as you can imagine, there was a good crowd of tourists trying to grab something to eat. More disheartened than ever, they began to consider leaving but, as you can imagine, hunger was looming. Having taken the ATC bus back up, they decided to go into Alberto’s bar and, to their immense joy, they discovered that it was possible to eat a pizza. They ordered two good “margherita pizza” and went back to their room, also because that one place was the object of much attention from other unfortunate tourists and some natives. They did the same thing in the evening, this time getting two seats with a table and ordering the only thing, in addition to the many desserts, containing a few calories: two toasts! Even though they tried to do the same, the tourists in the morning had walked all the way from the famous Piazzetta to Punta Tragara, at least, even if on an empty stomach, they went to admire the sea with the Faraglioni from above. The other discordant note was the fact that all the shops of the big world brands present there were, like the restaurants and bars, all closed.
At that point they decided to anticipate their return to Rome but, also for this forced and not chosen option, they were forced to pass under the pincers of Caremar and Italo who added their taxes to this early return.
I tried to contact lil, the municipality of Capri with 3 certified emails: one to the mayor’s office, one to the press office and one to the protocol. The only one who answered me was the protocol assigning me a number. I had the honor of speaking with my colleague Luciano Garofano who asked me to send him another email but he didn’t answer me either. I certainly don’t expect much attention but having noted the almost total closure of restaurants and bars both in Marina Grande and in Capri I asked, before publishing the article, to know what the administration thought about it, but there was absolute silence.