MEET GIOVANNI. HE MOVES MOUNTAINS.
08.10.2026 LE SIRENUSE
But Giovanni has another job at Le Sirenuse that few of our guests ever get to experience. He is our Technical Director, working behind the scenes during the hotel’s winter closure to make sure that every detail is perfect for the coming season. He performed the same invaluable role at Le Sirenuse Mare – except in this case, the work didn’t stop in summer.
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We’re especially proud of and grateful for Giovanni’s ability to get things done against the odds, because he is a local talent, nurtured in our midst. His first job at Le Sirenuse, between 2001 and 2008, was pool attendant. His organisational skills were so impressive that we decided to take a gamble, and field-promote him.
Recently, Le Sirenuse Journal sat down with Giovanni (a big ask for a man who seems to be in perpetual motion) and asked him to reflect on the challenges and personal satisfactions involved in bringing Le Sirenuse Mare to fruition.
“Coordinating the beach club project wasn't really any different from what I do in the hotel over the winter season. But I found myself working in a different municipality. Here in Positano I pick up the phone and immediately get things done. In Nerano, I had to take some time to find my footing and build a network of trusted contacts. It helped that we tiptoed in, and left the same way, with the lightest of footfalls.
“I am the first to admit that I have a fairly complicated character. But whoever loves me sticks around. I believe working relationships should be based on mutual respect, and I teach my teams the same approach. I was working with some amazing creative talents like architect Annarita Aversa or artists Alba Clemente and Lucio Liguori, and in the end they all trusted me to respect their vision, to iron out problems and get the job done.
“I had to deal with so many moving parts and so many different people. Surveyors from the coastal authority, engineers for the pier, structural engineers, geologists, agronomists, architects. The architecture has to look beautiful, but it also needs to be functional and structurally sound. That was the most complicated thing of all.
“In the early years of the project I’d cycle to Nerano from Positano so I could combine business with getting in a workout. But later on this became impossible. I was getting so many calls that my phone was practically on fire.
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“The greatest moment for me was when we planted those twelve Aleppo pines, which had arrived on the back of a truck. As a mountain hiker, as a lover of nature, I did everything possible to get them planted as early as we could so they weren’t stressed. It was a huge job, involving a 32-metre crane. We had to break open the car park entrance to manoeuvre it in. Once the pines were in , I went up onto the kitchen roof and I stood up there… and I'm not embarrassed to say it, I cried. Those pines are the most beautiful thing about that place, for me.
“I’m from Montepertuso, in the hills above Positano. So I’ve been surrounded by nature and mountains all my life. But my passion for running and hiking really started when I was twenty. The first time you venture out into the wild, you see and feel something you can't find anywhere else. And as I get older, I find myself seeking solitude more and more. It’s a kind of therapy.”
Photos © Roberto Salomone
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