This project is one of the most symbolic and important modern works of the 20th century in Italy. The owner, Curzio Malaparte (a writer at odds with the fascist regime who had been imprisoned), found his ideal location in Masullo, a cliff on the island of Capri (where he wanted to build a spiritual retreat). He commissioned the project from the rationalist architect Adalberto Libera. However, he was not satisfied with the proposed design, finding it too linear and resembling a bunker. Disagreements between the owner and the architect led to a falling out, and Malaparte himself, with the help of construction workers, finished the building.
The project sought a place of solitude and love, something he truly felt was his own, imbuing the work with all his tastes and personality, reflecting his desire for freedom "with metaphysical and even surreal aspects" that merge the house and the landscape. Its access via a winding path, a ritual staircase, a ceremonial platform, a jetty, and a rocky reef, marks the Mediterranean character of the intervention, in an “impossible place” that projects you toward infinity. Transforming this indeterminate and anonymous non-place into a unique and unrepeatable one.
His arrogant and proud attitude during the construction of the work embodied his deepest desire: “Now I live on an island, in an austere and melancholic house, which I have built myself on a solitary cliff above the sea. The image of my longing.”