Monastero Santa Rosa

The nuns of Santa Rosa are remembered along the Amalfi Coast for a pastry. In their convent above Conca dei Marini they folded ricotta and candied fruit into layered dough and gave the coast the sfogliatella Santa Rosa, which bakeries in Naples still sell under that name. Monastero Santa Rosa, the hotel that now occupies the convent, bakes it for breakfast.

History

Dominican nuns founded the convent in the 17th century on a ledge of the cliff between Amalfi and Positano, with the sea straight below and the village of Conca dei Marini beside it. The community dwindled in the decades after Italian unification and the building passed out of religious use early in the 20th century. For most of the last century it stood neglected.

Bianca Sharma, an American businesswoman, saw it from a boat in 2000 and bought it. The restoration lasted more than ten years. She kept the plan of the convent, the vaulted cells, the long corridors and the chapel, and opened Monastero Santa Rosa as a hotel in May 2012.

Architecture and design

The convent is a long whitewashed block laid along the cliff, its loggias and windows facing south over the Gulf of Salerno. The cells were combined to make bedrooms and the vaults left bare. Below the building four terraced gardens step down the rock, planted with lemons, olives, roses and herbs, and the lowest terrace carries an infinity pool at the edge of the drop. Furniture is antique or made in the region, and the old refectory keeps its vaulted ceiling.

Rooms and suites

There are 20 rooms and suites, every one facing the sea. Most are converted cells, so they are compact; the suites gain sitting areas and terraces. The house is seasonal and opens in spring and closes in late autumn. For a luxury hotel in Conca dei Marini it is a quiet place, with no entertainment programme and no beach of its own, which is the point for the people who book it.

Dining

Il Refettorio is set in the convent's refectory, with tables outside on the terrace. It holds a Michelin star under chef Christoph Bob, who has led the kitchen since the opening. The cooking is Campanian, built on fish from the coast and vegetables and herbs from the garden terraces. The bar by the pool serves lunch through the afternoon.

Wellness

The spa occupies the vaulted lower level, with a hydrotherapy pool, a steam room and treatment rooms, and the terraces are used for massages in the open air. The infinity pool on the lowest garden terrace is the centre of the day for most guests, with the coast road invisible above and nothing but water below.

Weddings and events

With 20 rooms, the house suits a wedding party that takes the whole property for several days. Ceremonies are held on the garden terraces above the sea, and dinner moves to the restaurant terrace or the refectory. There is no separate conference room; meetings are small and use the lounges and the gardens.

Location

Conca dei Marini is a village of a few hundred people between Amalfi, about 5 km to the east, and Positano, about 10 km to the west, with the Grotta dello Smeraldo in the cliff below it. The coast road passes the hotel's gate. Naples airport is roughly 90 minutes away by car, more in summer traffic; Salerno station, on the high-speed line, is about an hour. Ferries from Salerno, Amalfi and Positano offer the calmer approach, with a car from the quay in Amalfi for the last stretch.