"How to open a small hotel in your own home”, was the title of an article I read in a magazine a few years ago. I felt a sense of destiny in that sentence, the key to make my dream come true.
Since I was a little girl I had looked forward to the summer because my mother, who was a master at hospitality, played hostess to the families who wanted to spend their vacations at the beach. I still remember the games and the running Along the walkways and paths in the garden, with the other children... In the evening "Signora Maria" was always ready to add another place at the table for some friend who asked to stay for dinner. By the end of summer the guests had become family friends and their departure filled our hearts with sadness.
When we built our new larger house in the paternal garden, I decided to add a room for guests. I wanted to have relatives and friends and live again the old and never forgotten childhood feelings. I learned from this magazine that I could do more: I could welcome tourists from all over the world to my home and fill their suitcases full of wonderful memories when they left. Let them watch the beauty of the sea and Vesuvius out of the large living room window, and behind that window to see the cordiality and spontaneity of a Neapolitan family.
With this new type of hospitality I could imitate my mother, so I jealously guarded this idea.