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Werner Leipling Purchases Li Galli Islands for an Undisclosed Sum

The Sun

September 9, 2018

Naples —The three Li Galli islands, which form a small, rocky archipelago between Capri and the Sorrentine Peninsula, have been purchased by the billionaire financier Werner Leipling in an off-market sale. The largest and only habitable island, Il Gallo Lungo, was owned for the majority of the twentieth century by dancers, first Léonide Massine and later Rudolf Nureyev.

Originally used as a deterrent against piracy, Il Gallo Lungo has long been off-limits to the public. With only one place to land boats and a perilous set of stairs leading to the main house, it has been a favorite vacation destination for celebrities and politicians.

Il Gallo Lungo includes an amphitheater built for ballet, which Leipling is eager to repurpose, as well as a pool, a main house, two guesthouses, and a large outdoor patio area. The island has hosted numerous writers and artists over the years, among them Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Shirley Hazzard, and Graham Greene, who once remarked of the island: “The place looks idyllic, but might be hell.”