Capri

Capri is one of those places you always think ”one day I will visit it”. I must admit that I didn’t know exactly what to expect, even if I’ve recently spent some time on the islands nearby (Ischia and Procida). Thinking about Capri, the first images I had in my mind were luxury lifestyle, VIPS and rich people. I was completely wrong. Capri is much more than this.

I must thank Silvana, from ischiaguidedtours.com for this unbelievable experience. With her I got the most of two days stay in the Island.

We met directly at the Marina Grande, the main port where all the ferries from Napoli, Sorrento and Ischia arrive. Then we took a local bus to get to Anacapri, in the west part of the Island. I spent most of the bus ride at the window: landscapes were very impressive. Few formalities to check in our room for the night and we are walking through the streets of Anacapri. The first notable building we encontered is the Casa Rossa, the red house. It was built by an american general, Jhan Mackowen, between 1876 and 1899. He was the first author of a modern guide of Capri.

After a little walk, we arrived to the Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo (Church of St Michael the Archangel). Simple and White on the external wall, but remarkable from the inside with its majolica floor mosaic that represents the Earthly paradise and original sin. It was built in 1719.

After the Church we visited Villa San Michele, built by Axel Munthe, a Swedish physician and author of the bestseller book ”The story of San Michele”.

Munthe first arrived to Napoli to give a medical help during the Cholera epidemic in 1884. Then he was awarded of the Italian Order of the Crown for his service during Ischia earthquake and typhus epidemic in Capri in 1881.

Munthe during a visit to Capri fell in love a little chapel dedicated to San Michele. He bought the land in order to build a villa and during the excavations he found remains of an antique Roman villa. Till now it’s possible to see some of these archaeological finds in the villa, next to the original furniture used by Munthe. Construction work lasted some years, due to the absence of a road connecting Capri (and its marina) to Anacapri, where the villa was located. Only a pedestrian path, characterized by thousands of steps, connected the two towns.

Munthe was also the personal physician of Crown princess Victoria of Sweden-Norway. He had a studio in Rome, but when he moved to Capri, Victoria followed him. This gave a specific swedish stamp to the Island.

At his death, Munthe left the villa to the Swedish government. It was then opened to the public and it’s nowdays managed by a Swedish organization.

My home shall be open for the sun and the wind and the voices of the sea – like a Greek temple – and light, light, light everywhere!  – Axel Munthe

The highest point of the Island is Monte Solaro (589msl), reachable by foot or chair lift, Unfortunately we were tight on time, so we decided to take the chair lift. It was a very nice ride with beautiful views, but when we arrived on the top, we realized that clouds were completely covering the landscape. We waited for a while full of hope that the clouds will open up, but nothing, we weren’t that lucky.


We then finally walked to Capri taking the Phoenichan Stairs (971 steps). It was build in the VII centery b.C by the Greeks.. The name was given with the wrong belief that the Phoenicians conquered the Island of Capri. Successively in the Middle Ages the Romans restored the stairs


Villa Jovis is one of the antique Roman villa built on the Island. The original villa was dated to Augustus period. Tiberius , his adopted son and his heir, moved his headquarter to Capri, where he lived the last years of his life (27-37 AD). Villa Jovis continued to be the Imperial Residence till the 2nd century AD. This is the largest of twelve Tiberias villa on Capri.


From Villa Jovis we took the Sentiero delle Calanche (Calanche path ) to get to Villa Lysis. This villa was built in 1904 by Baron Jacque Fersen. He was related to Axel von Fersen, a Swedish count who had a supposed relationship with Marie Antoinette. His life was reckless and full of scaldals, due also to his omosexuality. After visiting Capri, he decided to built here, near Tiberius Villa, his home. It has a beautiful portico, with a garden, some statues and of course a wonderful view. The house itself is very spacious, 3 floors completely decorated, with all the conforts, where he used to invite his friends. The name of the villa is a remind of Socratic dialogue Lysis in which Plato discuss about friendship. Ferson eventually committed suicide by overdose of cocaine.



I faraglioni are one of the most famous attractions of the Island. The three rocks are called: Faraglione di Terra, Faraglione di Mezzo e Faraglione Stella. The faraglioni are associated to the myth of the Sirens, half woman and half fish, who are used to sing to attract sailors that eventually crashed their boats on the rocks (Virgilio, Eneide). We arrived to the Faraglioni in time for the Golden hour.



Our second day in Capri was dedicated to an excursion on the Towers and Forts path – Il sentiero dei Fortini. It ‘s a very well marked trail on the coastline. The trail starts near the Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto) and finished at Punta Arena (the lighthouse). Most of the tourist visit the grotto with a boat tour from Marina Grande Port, but it’s also possibile to get here by foot and then enter to the grotto with little rowing boat that you can find at the entrance of the grotto. When the sea is too rough, it’s too dangerous and the visit of the grotto is forbidden. This was one of those day… Quite disappointed for one side, I could still enjoy the spectacular show of the waves crashing against the rocks. The landscape is astonishing through all the path. Ruins of many forts can be visited along the way. They were built between IX and XV century as sighting Towers. At that time Capri was attacked by Saracen corsairs. The original Towers were destroyed, to be built again by the British and the French after the battle of Orrico in 1808 (La Presa di Capri). Numerous ceramic tiles are placed along the path to describe the flora and fauna of this region.

Our visit in Capri ended here. We went back to Marina grande from where I took a Ferry back to Napoli.

I was nicely surprised about Capri. The Idea I had in my mind of this Island was completely wrong. I didn’t expect to be so rich in trails, archaeological sites, villas, gardens and wonderful landscapes. No question about the reason why so many people fell in love with this Island and completely twisted their lives to live here….