Because of its unique geographical location and Five Star Award - winning
quality of services, Michelin Listing for the 2006 Guide, and the particular
attention paid to the kitchen, trained by the renowned L’Etoile di Sottomarina, Italy
and, L’Ecole LeNotre, France, in charge, The Grand Hotel Tenuta Lupo
offers to its guests an unparalleled opportunity for vacation relaxation,
holiday celebrations, business meetings, conferences and congresses, and
catering /banquet services.
HistoryThe Grand Hotel Tenuta Lupό is located in the Laura
Zone of the Capaccio Coastline. The Laura Zone is one of the largest communities
in the Southern Italian Province of Salerno, located between the Ocean Outlet of
the River Sele and the Archaeological site of ancient Paestum.
Paestum is centrally located in the large plain of Sele, surrounded by the
mountain chains of the Cilento, the Alburni and the Picentini, the town of
Salerno to the North, and kissed by the Mediterranean on the West. Just to the
North there are the world famous Amalfi Coast and the Island of Capri. On the
South lays the Cilento Coast and the National Nature Preserve of Punta Licosa.
For thousands of years, the plains, mountains and sea of this beautiful region
have attracted people from all cultures and all over the world. In fact,
according to Greek Mythology, Jason and the Argonauts landed here at the Outlet
of the River Sele after the conquest of the ‘Golden Veil’, and it is here they
built the Temple for the Goddess Hera Argiva.
The archaeological history of our zone attracts many people because through it’s
evidence the history of many civilizations of the oenological and modern periods
may be tracked. Moreover, you may literally walk along in the footsteps of the
Greek-Sybarites, of Samnites, and of course of the Romans – Ovidio Nasone,
himself praised Paestum for its beautiful roses!
During the late – Roman period, Paestum became a marshland because of
devastating deforestation in the high Sele, and therefore the people migrated to
the mountain of Capaccio, where may be found Capaccio Vecchio and the Sanctuaria
della Madonna del Granato. Capaccio later became the Episcopal Seat of the world
for many centuries, dating from 1100 AD. Also of local and Medieval historical
importance was the dramatic ending to the Conspiracy of the Cilentan Barons
against Emperor Federico II in 1244 AD. Paestum was literally abandoned, with
even the trees and vegetables neglected and forgotten. It was only rediscovered
again circa 1750AD, and re-emerged as a place of learning, especially for poets
including J.W. Goethe.
On into the 18th Century the zone was renowned for its hunting, and the
buildings of that period were equipped especially for this purpose as you may
still see in the Ancient Master’s Residence of Tenuta Lupo.
During the first half of the 1900’s, Paestum was reclaimed for rural cultivation
and given over to the breeding of buffalo – the zone is today world famous for
its typical Buffalo Mozzerella. And in the mid-1900’s, Paestum – Capaccio was
reclaimed for the Allies when American troops landed there in 1943. Since the
1960’s the zone has been steadily growing as an important tourist and
educational site.