ADALBERTO LIBERA | CURZIO MALAPARTE
Casa Malaparte (also Villa Malaparte) is a house
on Punta Massullo, on the eastern side of the Isle of Capri,
Italy. It is one of the best examples of Italian modern
and contemporary architecture. The house was conceived
around 1937 by Italian Rationalist architect Adalberto Libera
for Curzio Malaparte.
Casa Malaparte is a red masonry box with reverse pyramidal
stairs leading to the roof patio. On the roof is a freestanding
curving white wall of increasing height. It sits on a dangerous
cliff 32 meters above the sea overlooking the Gulf of Salerno.
Access to this private property is either by foot from the Town
of Capri or by boat and a staircase cut into the cliff.
Casa Malaparte’s interior and exterior (particularly the
rooftop patio) are prominently featured in Jean-Luc Godard’s
1963 film, Contempt (Le Mépris). (@ wikipedia)
Curzio Malaparte (9 June 1898 – 19 July 1957), born
Kurt Erich Suckert, was an Italian journalist, dramatist,
short-story writer, novelist and diplomat. His chosen surname,
which he used from 1925, means “evil/wrong side” and is
a play on Napoleon’s family name “Bonaparte” which means,
in Italian, “good side”. (@ wikipedia)
