text Francesca Lombardi
Giorgio Armani buys La Capannina, iconic nightclub in Forte dei Marmi
Opened in 1929, it is one of the most famous historic nightclubs in the world and has been run by Gherardo and Carla Guidi since 1977
La Capannina has been acquired by Giorgio Armani. The news about the legendary club founded in 1929 by Achille Franceschi and acquired and managed by Gherardo and Carla Guidi since 1977 came at the end of the summer and made many hearts skip a beat. Those who knew it in the 1960s, experienced it in the 1980s and 1990s, and last but not least, the young people who frequent it today.
La Capannina di Franceschi oggiUnder the beach umbrellas of Versilia, and beyond, everyone is asking: will it change? For almost a century, La Capannina has been a symbol of Italian high society and a crossroads for artists and intellectuals. For Giorgio Armani, who has always been attached to Forte dei Marmi, his personal retreat and vacation spot, this acquisition represents an emotional gesture, a return to his roots—it was there in the 1960s that he met his friend and business partner Sergio Galeotti—and a tribute to Italian tradition. For these reasons, which are above all sentimental, Armani will restore the club to its heritage, which has never been completely forgotten. Perhaps it has become a little dusty. The new management will take effect starting in the summer season of 2026.
La Capannina di Franceschi (Archivio Franceschi)Our publishing house has released a beautiful book on the history of this iconic place to mark its 90th anniversary: La Capannina di Franceschi. From Achille Franceschi to Gherardo Guidi, 90 years of a legend. Photographs as beautiful as the stories and tales of this place he lived and loved, to which he is also linked by personal events. Mister Giorgio himself.
La Capannina Here we publish a short excerpt from the book, written by journalist Umberto Cecchi.
Pier Paolo Pasolini—the most rustic and critical poet of his time, capable of fighting with Leonida Repaci, the feared lord of the Viareggio Prize—said that at the right moment he decided to disappear to merge with the Fort and wrote poetry: "... the sea stops at the landing place, tests the shore with suspicion, then looks admiringly beyond the row of light white-painted tents and seems to want to take refuge in Ali Baba's cave, in that open Sesame that is the Capannina. Doesn't it seem that way to you too? Nights of Arabia Felix." His angular, hard face, that of a man from the north, appeared relaxed. I quoted from memory: old memories of a restless evening at a table with Pasolini, Piero Paoli, and me: ‘two journalists too many,’ as Pasolini had said before opening a debate that was half-smothered by the orchestra's bass notes. The debate was about intellectuals, and Pasolini divided them into right-wing and left-wing employees, with a small independent group in the middle that couldn't make ends meet. It was an old debate. The amazing thing was that we had opened it at a table in the dining room of La Capannina, where the maître d', Pasquale Casiello, standing ramrod straight like a soldier, was listening. Extraordinary things, but extraordinary is the world of La Capannina di Franceschi, founded in 1929, where it still stands today. A ‘hut’ that has made history across five continents.
La Capannina di Franceschi