J.Lo Almost Got Married At This Celeb-Loved, Family-Owned Beach Club in Italy
La Fontelina Beach Club in Capri is the hottest ticket on the island... It's been around and family owned for 73 years and made Capri... Capri!
Have you ever gone to a place and thought to yourself, “Heaven on Earth”?
I have.
For me, that place is La Fontelina.
Source: La Fontelina Capri
Instagram: @lafontelinacapri
The famed beach club in Capri, Italy that has captivated celebrities and mere mortals for generations.
Kendall Jenner at La Fontelina, Instagram: @lafontelinacapri
Eva Longoria at La Fontelina, Instagram: @lafontelinacapri
Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union-Wade at La Fontelina, Instagram: @lafontelinacapri
The club with the Instagram-famous blue and white umbrellas.
Instagram: @thealinacho
Having lunch at Fontelina then dipping into the sea for a swim is a Capri rite of passage.
No trip to Capri is truly complete without checking that off your bucket list.
J.Lo almost got married here.
Instagram: @chrisappleton1
No, not to Ben.
I sat down recently with La Fontelina’s owner, Gaetano Gargiulo.
Gaetano Gargiulo and Alina Cho at La Fontelina, July 5, 2022, Source: Alina Cho
We covered a lot of ground.
Celebrities… scoring a table… and the one thing that scares him the most.
FAMILY OWNED FOR 73 YEARS
ALINA CHO: La Fontelina opened in 1949.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Yes.
ALINA CHO: More than 70 years ago.
GAETANO GARGIULO: How [did this happen]?
ALINA CHO: Yes, how did it happen?
GAETANO GARGIULO: Many years ago, there was the father and the mother of [my late business partner, Tonino Arcucci].
Source: La Fontelina Capri
ALINA CHO: Yes.
GAETANO GARGIULO: The [father] was a good swimmer. And he [swam] from Marina Grande [Capri’s main port] to here [one day], and he saw the rocks.
Source: La Fontelina Capri
GAETANO GARGIULO: And he said, "Maybe over there, we can do something." And he came here, and he started [Fontelina] with his wife.
Source: La Fontelina Capri
ALINA CHO: Wow.
GAETANO GARGIULO: [Later, my father, mother and uncle joined the business]. Then, in 1987, there was a big storm.
ALINA CHO: Yes, I read that.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Destroyed everything.
Source: La Fontelina Capri
ALINA CHO: Everything.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Like a bomb.
Source: La Fontelina Capri
GAETANO GARGIULO: After that, [the business passed to the next generation — me, Tonino and my cousin, Mario Gargiulo. It took] five or six years to [rebuild] everything. And we started again.
CELEB HANGOUT
ALINA CHO: Let's talk about the celebrities.
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom at La Fontelina, Instagram: @lafontelinacapri
GAETANO GARGIULO: The first thing is that we never advertise. We [always say], "No, Fontelina must be advertised bocca to bocca."
ALINA CHO: By word of mouth.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Yes, and our clients, they make our advertisements.
ALINA CHO: [The international jet set discovered Fontelina] in the 1960s. Brigitte Bardot, Clark Gable, Sophia Loren. They all came here.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Famous people, they feel comfortable here. They feel at home.
Instagram: @lafontelinacapri
ALINA CHO: Is there somebody you met and thought, “Oh my God. Wow”?
GAETANO GARGIULO: Sylvester Stallone.
ALINA CHO: Yes.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Jennifer Lopez, in 2019, she organized everything to [get married at] Fontelina.
ALINA CHO: She wanted to get married here?
GAETANO GARGIULO: Yes.
ALINA CHO: To A-Rod. Really?
Source: NBC News
GAETANO GARGIULO: Everything was ready for the next summer. It was a big, big party, they rented everything for, I think, one, two days. But [during] COVID, they [broke up].
ALINA CHO: That’s a wow.
WHAT PEOPLE WILL DO TO SCORE A TABLE AT FONTELINA
ALINA CHO: Every celebrity, every person who comes to Capri, wants to come to Fontelina.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Yes, the problem now is…
ALINA CHO: Yes, I know the problem.
GAETANO GARGIULO: There’s no room.
ALINA CHO: I know. If you look on the website, it says you’re fully booked until September 4th.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Many times, people want to spend three times what the cost is, maybe five times. But if you are fully booked, what can you do? I cannot tell you [not to] come because someone wants to give me more money.
ALINA CHO: Of course.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Some people, you know what they do?
ALINA CHO: What?
GAETANO GARGIULO: They book Fontelina. If there is room at Fontelina, then they come to Capri.
ALINA CHO: If not?
GAETANO GARGIULO: They change [their dates]. It’s true. Maybe 1000 of our clients, they do this.
COULD FONTELINA BE SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER?
GAETANO GARGIULO: There is a law in Italy, in Europe [known as the Bolkestein Directive], that says [perhaps as soon as the end of next year], whoever gives the most money can take [ownership of] the Fontelina.
ALINA CHO: What?
*If the EU has its way, ownership of Italy’s beach clubs could soon go to the highest bidder. Beaches in Italy are state property.*
GAETANO GARGIULO: This is not good for many families in Italy. They start 50, 60, 80 years ago, [building] something for their family, for the island. Fontelina [has helped make] Capri famous.
Instagram: @lafontelinacapri
ALINA CHO: Of course.
GAETANO GARGIULO: [It has helped make] Italy famous, maybe.
Instagram: @lafontelinacapri
ALINA CHO: It’s true.
GAETANO GARGIULO: So, if somebody wants to offer more money than us, is that correct, you think?
ALINA CHO: Of course not.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Europe [says it is]. We pay [to rent the beach]. It’s state property.
ALINA CHO: I did not know this. So, you only own a part of the property.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Yes. A little part. 20%. From the kitchen up. I cannot own the beach.
ALINA CHO: I had no idea.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Maybe in 2023, we have to leave Fontelina. The family [has been here] three generations, maybe four.
ALINA CHO: Do you think that will happen?
GAETANO GARGIULO: It could happen. I don't think so because we will fight for this. But you never know.
ALINA CHO: Oh, Gaetano. I hope that does not happen.
GAETANO GARGIULO: Because you don't know what [a new owner would] do. I [worry that] the wrong guy will come to Fontelina.
ALINA CHO: Well, it's not going to happen. And nobody would come if it did.
GAETANO GARGIULO: I hope.