In 1951, the four Sersale siblings – Paolo, Aldo, Franco and Anna – opened their holiday villa in the Italian seaside village of Positano to visiting guests. They called the small hotel Le Sirenuse, after the «mermaid islands» of the same name that shimmered on the horizon. Over the years, it would become a lifestyle icon, while retaining the intimate feel of a family home.
Careful evolution, rather than abrupt change, has always been Le Sirenuse’s watchword, as befits a hotel that has remained a family business for seven decades. Nevertheless the last several years have brought significant novelties aimed at reinventing and reaffirming Le Sirenuse’s style paradigms for the 21st century including the opening of Franco’s Bar, launch of the seasonal fitness and detox retreat Dolce Vitality, and growth of the Artists at Le Sirenuse program. Launched in 2015 and curated by Carla and Antonio Sersale in collaboration with British curator Silka Rittson-Thomas, it reflects Positano’s close connection to creativity and, at the same time, the passion for collecting that has always distinguished the hotel. Every year, an artist is invited to create a work in the hotel in dialogue with the environment and spirit of the place. Previous commissions include Rita Ackermann, Caragh Thuring, Matt Connors, Alex Israel, Stanley Whitney and Martin Creed.
Now, as Le Sirenuse prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2021, a new generation of the Sersale family has come on board to steer the hotel into the future, all the while maintaining the inimitable style, service standards and cultured dolce vita ambience that have always marked out the 58-room Amalfi Coast resort.
Born a year apart in September 1992 and 1993, Aldo Sersale and his younger brother Francesco have both recently returned from the United States to work alongside their parents, Antonio and Carla, bringing with them new millennial energies and perspectives to the management and strategic vision of Le Sirenuse and its associated fashion and lifestyle brand Le Sirenuse Positano.
Due to officially open this summer and situated in one of the elegant lounges of the 18th century family villa around which the hotel flourished, the Don’t Worry Bar is a revamp of a classic watering hole, a snug speakeasy for old-school hotel bar aficionados, where impeccably dressed barmen mix classic cocktails. The bar area itself is an antique jewel in gold leaf, walnut, brass and precious onyx, sensitively restored and restyled by interior designer Annalisa Bellettati, but its name pays tribute to a more recent work of art that hangs from the ceiling of the adjacent room: Martin Creed’s neon installation Don’t Worry.
Photos: ©Le Sirenuse/ Photographer: Brechenmacher & Baumann