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Piazza S. Fosca, 29 -
30012 Torcello Venice Italy
Tel. (+39) 041 730150 Fax (+39) 041 735433 |
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 pened in 1935, a year after
Giuseppe Cipriani bought the old inn on the island, Locanda Cipriani has welcomed many
distinguished and famous guests over its 60+ years of history: royalty, stars, artists,
heads of state and many, many m ore. Some chose the Locanda as the perfect venue to hold
social events, one notable example being American heiress Barbara Hutton who, in September
1957, wanted the island covered in thousands of candles for the spectacular party she
threw in Torcello. Most people, however, chose the Locanda simply because they wanted to
enjoy good food in a beautiful, tranquil oasis. One guest who took this approach was
Ernest Hemingway in the autumn of 1948. |
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 oined in Venice by his wife Mary, Papa Hemingway was already a legend at
the time. He knew Torcello, having been won over by the island's unique charm. In fact, he
decided to spend the whole month of November at Locanda Cipriani, dividing his time
between duck hunting, writing his novel 'Across the River and Into the Trees' and at
his table alongside the Locanda's fogher. The impressions and memories of that
November in Torcello are forever imprinted on the pages of his novel. Hemingway returned
to Locanda Cipriani with his wife Mary in the spring of 1954 during their
stay in Venice and following their unfortunate experience in Africa. It was a day filled
with caviar and vodka, in the gentle springtime sun. |
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 here can be no doubt that Hemingway's fame - already widespread by
1948 - impacted on Locanda's reputation too, but other distinguished names were already
visiting their beloved Locanda long before Hemingway. n September 1938, ten years
before Hemingway's first visit, Princess Maria Josè of Savoy visited the Locanda with
other members of the Italian royal family. It wasn't until May 1989 that the last queen of
Italy returned to the Locanda during a stay in Venice.
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After that September in 1938
many other royal families visited Locanda Cipriani. In May 1961 Locanda was host to Queen Elizabeth II and
the Duke of Edinburgh during a visit to Venice on board the Britannia. Even
today, the Locanda is the only restaurant that Queen Elizabeth II has visited
privately. Only a few years earlier, in the mid-1950s, Elizabeth II, Edward Duke of
Windsor and Wallis Simpson were at the Locanda for the opening of the Venetian season. |
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| In May 1985, 24 years after
Queen Elizabeth II's visit , the Prince and Princess of Wales visited the Locanda for
a private lunch. |
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| A few months before them,
in October 1984, Queen
Elizabeth the Queen Mother of England stayed at the Locanda during a visit to
Torcello. |
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| Almost 50 years
after her first visit to the island in the 1950s, the unforgotten fixture on the Venetian
social scene and a regular visitor to Torcello, Queen Alexandra (wife of the former King
of Yugoslavia Peter II and daughter of Princess Aspasia of Greece) became the 'queen of
Torcello' in June 1998 when she held her wedding party at the Locanda. The event was
attended by many distinguished guests, including Queen Sofia of Spain, the former royals
of Greece, Constantine II and Anne-Maria of Denmark, and the former empress of Iran, Farah
Diba. At the launch of one important Venetian show in March 1997, three sovereigns were
seated at the same table: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, with Prince Klaus Von Amsberg
and Albert II and Paola of Belgium. n September 1946, two years before Hemingway's visit, the
unrivalled pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was seated at one of the Locanda's
tables. Three years later, in September 1949, the Locanda was host to a leading figure of
the 20th century: Arturo Toscanini
and his daughter Wally. On 4 September 1949, back in Venice after a 20 year absence, the
renowned conductor held a concert to mark the opening of the Venice Biennale. The concert
was an epic event featuring a performance of the Pastorale and the Moldava.
The following day, 5 September 1949, hardly anyone noticed John Dos Passos, a dear friend
of Hemingway, at the Locanda.
A nother event that remains forever inscribed in the history of the Biennale is Igor
Stravinsky's concert in September 1951, at which he presented the first Rake's
Progress. On 15 September, the famous conductor sat down for a meal at one of the
Locanda's tables with his wife Vera and other guests. He returned to Torcello a few years
later in August 1958.
In August 1952 the Locanda was host to Maria Callas, who
wanted to be known simply as a 'singer' but was already known the world over as 'the
divine'.
William Somerset Maugham described himself as "happy and sated' when he left
the Locanda in May 1951. |
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Dimitri Mitropoulos,
on the other hand, described himself as "a grateful victim" at the end
of his stay at the Locanda in August 1954. He returned a couple of years later, in
September 1956, to what he called "a blessed place of peace and meditation". The English writer Nancy Mitford
described her stay of nearly two months at the Locanda in the summer of 1956 as "such
a happy period on your beautiful island". |
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 month before Hemingway, Marc Chagall left
behind one of his 'improvisations' after a stay at the Locanda. It was September 1948 and
Chagall won the Biennale prize.Chagall returned to
Torcello a few years later, in September 1960, and this time he dedicated a picture he
drew with lipstick.
In June 1981 Cesar 'improvised' his unique farewell with
a pen and a stamp. |
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In June 1954, that year's winner of the
Biennale, Max Ernst, drew a
souvenir. On June 21 Ernst sat at a table with his wife Dorothea Tannings, the surrealist
Victor Brauner and his wife Peggy Guggenheim, the 'muse of the surrealists'. Peggy Guggenheim had already been to Locanda Cipriani a few times.
In November 1949, when she became the owner of the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in
Venice, she left the Locanda having written "Harry's Bar in Venice or in Torcello
is always divine". |
Raymond Peynet
dedicated a surreal and poetic picture of Cupid dressed
as a chef to the Locanda in May 1982.
Carlo Carrà, Giò Ponti, Frank Lloyd Wright, Man Ray, Raoul Dufy, Gino Severini, Henry
Moore, Le Corbusier, Bob Rauschenberg and more ... Throughout the 1960s, entire
generations of leading figures on the international art scene and the Venice Biennale were
guests at Locanda Cipriani and this was clearly emphasised by Pierre Restany in his
dedication in September 2000: "Torcello keeps the memory of past Biennale dinners
alive. The place of memory is awake and excellent. Hurrah". |
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| n June 7, four months before Hemingway's visit and at the opening of the
historical 1948 Biennale, Italian President Luigi Einaudi, his
wife Ida and the US ambassador to Italy, James Dunn, visited the Locanda. Although
President Einaudi returned to the Locanda on numerous occasions throughout the 1950s, it
wasn't until April 1983 that another Italian president visited Torcello: Sandro Pertini. |
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Just a few
years earlier, in June 1980, the Locanda was chosen by French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
for his stay in Venice at the summit of superpowers.
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was one of the Locanda's 'occasional' guests
during those heady days.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s it was not at all unusual to see the then French President
François Mitterrand at the Locanda during his frequent stays in his beloved Venice,
during which he would indulge in moments of absolute tranquility on Torcello.
Perhaps not following in the footsteps of Mitterrand, but certainly those like him who
were attracted to the peaceful nature of the place, Jacques Chirac also visited the
Locanda before he became president of France.
One January day in 1997 the Locanda - which is usually shut for the entire month of
January - hosted the then Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and Spanish Prime Minister
Josè Maria Aznar who were on a private visit to Torcello.
The Locanda has been honoured by many other distinguished statesmen throughout its 60 year
history. |
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Winston Churchill still holds a very
special place in the list of people who have visited the Locanda. Throughout the 1950s he
often visited Torcello with his wife, Lady Clementine, often with a painter's easel under
his arm.
In 1954 Churchill painted a 'corner' of the island canal and sent a copy of it to the
Locanda in the form of a greeting card in memory of his visits. |
 ine years before Hemingway's visit, in August 1939, Tyrone Power
sat at one of the Locanda's tables, having just finished shooting Jesse James with
Henry Fonda. He was already a movie star adored by millions and especially popular with
the ladies.
Locanda Cipriani went on to host a veritable parade of movie stars in the 1960s. In June
1955 Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman sat at the same table. Later came Kirk Douglas, Henry
Fonda, Liz Taylor, Richard Widmark and many more. |
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| In May 1956 the beautiful and
already famous Kim Novak chose the Locanda during a short visit to the lagoon after the
success of her latest film 'The Man with the Golden Arm' in which she starred alongside
Frank Sinatra. She left the Locanda having written 'All I can say is that I hope to
return one day'. She was followed by Anthony Quinn, Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer,
Jerry Lewis and many others. |
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It was during a
day in June 1958 that Bette Davis, seated at one of the Locanda's tables, made the
following comment about Hemingway's stay in Torcello ten years previously: "Mr Hemingway
was right to stay in this divine place".
Next came Omar Sharif, Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier, Liza
Minelli, Jack Lemmon, and more. |
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In September 1983 Walter Matthau
spontaneously broke out into song with a group of Venetian gondoliers. Later came Tom
Cruise with his first wife Mimi Rogers, Dennis Hopper, Gerard Depardieu, Charlotte
Rampling and many more.
In September 1991 Jack Nicholson and Donald Sutherland sat at the same table, both leaving
behind a picture as a souvenir. One drew a self-portrait, the other drew a picture of the
man who, a few years earlier, had taught him to be Casanova, Federico Fellini. |
Then there were
Al Pacino, Billy Crystal, Julia Roberts, Nicholas Cage, Nicole Kidman... and the list goes
on.
There have also been musical stars: stars of yesteryear, such as Cole Porter, Bing Crosby
and Paul Anka as well as today's rock and pop stars such as Mick Jagger, David Gilmour, Rod Stewart
to name but a few.
In October 1998 Elton John and Hugh Grant sat at the same table, accompanied by Liz
Hurley. That day the sun was shining, and so were the stars.
One of the many show business giants to visit was Billy Wilder who - on
4 July 1952 in the company of Charles Vidor, writer of the legendary film 'Gilda', and
William Holden - celebrated Independence Day by drawing the stars and stripes against a
backdrop of an undressed Statue of Liberty.
He was followed by Roberto Rossellini, David Lean, Jean Cocteau, Giorgio Strehler, Don
Siegel, Vittorio De Sica, Renè Clement an many, many others. |
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In June 1959 Charlie
Chaplin and his wife left behind a drawing of the Little Tramp after their visit to the
Locanda.
A little over ten years later, in June 1970, Chaplin returned to the Locanda with his wife
and left a picture of the Little Tramp's walking stick, bowler hat and shoes as a
souvenir, with the words "Here I am again". In his footsteps came
Bernardo Bertolucci, Francesco Rosi, Roman Polansky, Jane Campion, Ron Howard, Steven
Spielberg and many others . |
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