The marine grottoes, theFaraglioni, with their ex-traordinary shapes, the in-comparable scenery, the mixof nature, art and culture, allcontribute to make Caprione the most dreamed of andcelebrated island in theworld. Throughout the cen-turies it has enchanted writ-ers, poets, musicians,painters and filmmakers.Known in Greek mythology

as the isle of the sirens,Capri was a favored resort ofthe Roman emperors. Mostnotoriously, the emperorTiberius had his villa on theisland. But the worldwidefame of Capri began with therediscovery of the Grotta Az-zurra (#1 on the map), orBlue Grotto, in the first halfof the 19h century, when itentered into orbit of the Ger-man romantic literature be-cause of its unworldly lightblue light. The island thenbecame a favorite destina-

tion, and often a source ofinspiration, for writers, poetsand painters. At the begin-ning of the 1900s Capri wasalso refuge for Russian writ-ers and political exiles, in-cluding Maxim Gorky andVladimir Lenin.From via Marina Grande,

opened in 1874 by Neapoli-tan engineer Emilio Mayer,one reaches the Chiesa diSan Costanzo (#2 on themap), the oldest and themost significant religiousstructure of the island, builtin the late 5th century andexpanded around the middleof 14th century in an areawhere the remains of f irstcentury B.C. Roman bathswere found. Only the belltower was part of the origi-nal structure. The façade,with its Gothic portal, wasaltered in the beginning ofthe 19th century. The inte-rior is notable for its Byzan-tine basilica layout and theGreek cross plan that restson 12 Roman columns.

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Capri“One of the magneticpoints of the earth”

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To get to Capri from Ma-rina Grande one can hop onthe funicular railway (fromPiazza della Vittoria) or fol-low the walking paths, re-markable for the beauty ofthe landscape and the archi-tectural structures. The Pi-azzetta (#3), considered thecenter of the town since the30s, is the nickname for tinyPiazza Umberto I, the tradi-tional launchpad for a visitto the rest of the island.The Baroque Chiesa di

Santo Stefano (#4) domi-

nates the square, with itsarabesque cupola and price-less Roman pavement,moved here from Villa Jovis.To the right of the church isPalazzo Cerio (#5), datingback to 1372. Via Ignazio Cerio leads to

the Certosa di San Giacomo(#6), a monumental complexand one of the f inest exam-ples of Caprese architec-ture(visits: 9-2, closed Mon,tel:081-837-6218). It was builtin the middle of the 14thcentury by local nobleman

Certosa di San Giacomo

by amalficoasting.org

1 Grotta Azzurra, 2 Chiesa di San Costanzo 3 Piazzetta, 4 Chiesa di Santo Stefano 5 Palazzo Cerio, 6 Certosa di San Giacomo,7 Faraglioni8 Marina Piccola 9 Giardini di Augusto10 via Krupp,

11 Villa Jovis 12 Marina Grande13 Arco Naturale14 Cave of Matermania15 Belvedere of Tragara 16 Villa San Michele17 Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo18 Villa il Rosaio, 19 Bagni di Tiberio

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leads to the Giardini di Au-gusto (#9), or Gardens of Au-gustus, a public park whoseterraces offer another superbview of Capri, the Faraglioniand Marina Piccola. On aside terrace there is a sculp-ture of Lenin, who in 1908lived in the villa above Blae-sus, now the Villa KruppHotel.Continuing under the gar-

den’s overpass one arrives atvia Krupp (#10), a tortuousstreet that descends to thesea with enchantingglimpses of views onto thesea and the Faraglioni. Builtshortly after 1901 by engi-

neer Emilio Meyer on behalfof Baron Gustav Bohlen undHalbach, the husband ofBerta, daughter of Germansteel magnate FriedrichKrupp, via Krupp is a uniqueexample of a road happily in-serted in its natural context,and therefore rightly called"a road as a work of art."Villa Jovis (#11, open 9

until 1 hour before sunset,081-837-4549) is the best pre-served Roman villa on the is-land and one of the bestexamples of palaces from theinitial imperial age. Built byTiberius, and remembered bySvetonius and Pliny the

Villa Jovis

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Giacomo Arpili and greatlyexpanded by the Certosinimonks in late 16th and early17th century. The church, inbaroque style, stands at theend of the driveway. Theogival portal is decoratedwith in bas-relief figures ofSt. Bruno and St. James andby a fresco of Madonna andChild Enthroned withSaints by Nicholas Thomas(1371-74).The church leads to the

15th century Small Cloister,with Roman and early me-dieval columns and capitals,and to the Capitol Room, orSala Capitolare, where theKarl Wilhelm DiefenbachMuseum (visits: Tue-Sun 9-14 hours) contains largepaintings and unique inter-pretations of Capri land-scapes by the Germanpainter.The Certosa also includes

the late 16th century GreatCloister and the ClockTower, with its greatBaroque vaults. The gardenleads to a lookout with viewsof the Port of Tragara andthe three Faraglioni (#7) -the f irst, Stella, nearest tothe coast, is 109 mt high, themiddle one, Faraglione dimezzo, is 81 meters, and thethird, known as Scopola, is104 meters high and inhab-ited by the rare blue lizard.Also visible from there is

Marina Piccola (#8). From the Certosa di San

Giacomo, viale Matteotti

The Faraglione di mezzo

Via Krupp

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floors with polychrome mar-ble inlays.A wide corridor and a ramp

encased in the rock takes onedown to the Imperial Lodge,the most original andgrandiose part of the villa,which runs straight for al-most 100 yards along theslope of the mountain. In theopen air and without anymarble facings, it served as alookout or ambulatio, for itsextraordinary view. Thelodge widens into a smallquarter consisting of threerooms. The floor of the cen-tral room was later moved to

the church of Santo Stefano.On the brow of the moun-tain, towards Marina Grande(#12), are the remains of amassive building with thickwalls, perhaps a peculariumthat served both for an astro-nomical observation and alookout post.From Villa Jovis you can

hike to via Matermania - abeautiful route with remark-able panoramic views of thecenter of Capri. Via Dente-cala will lead to a Belvederewith the extraordinary viewof the islands of Li Galli andthe gulf of Salerno.

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Elder, is commonly calledthe Palazzo di Tiberio. Dur-ing the f irst excavations, inthe Bourbon period, it wasstripped of its inlaid marblefloors. The villa itself coversthe entire top of MountTiberio, a large area betweenthe lighthouse tower and thesummit of the promontorywhose vertical drop of 40yards is eluded by a series ofterraces connected by stairs.The various quarters arearranged around a centralsquare with four cisterns duginto the rock for the collec-tion of rainwater. To thesouth are the baths; to theeast a large chamber with anapsidal room leaning ontothe mountain; to the norththe imperial quarter, and tothe west the servants’ ac-commodations.Behind the ticket office, on

the right is the base of the

lighthouse, which served aslookout tower for the nearbySorrentine Peninsula.Quadrilateral at the bottomand a cylindrical at the top, itwas originally 20 yards high(now only 16). Further downis the so-called Leap ofTiberius, a 300 yard highdrop above the sea, fromwhich legend says Tiberiusthrew his victims. From the entrance to the

ruins of the Roman villa,there is a ramp to the mainentrance of the building,where one can access avestibule that initiallyhoused the guards and in theMiddle Ages was turned intowater tanks. Walking along awide corridor there is a sec-ond vestibule. From thereone can go up to the floor ofthe upper baths. They con-sist of f ive rooms, arrangedalong the corridor in contactwith the tanks that fed them.Following the secondvestibule hallway and climb-ing a ladder flanked byrooms one comes to the im-perial quarter, located in thehighest part of the villa. Itconsists of an imperial hall -the square in front of itprobably served as a lookoutterrace - and two areas withthe remains of beautiful

Belvedere of Tragara

Belvedere del Triagara

other imperial villa, Dame-cuta.Via Orlandi, closed to traf-

fic, goes through the centerof Anacapri, widening soonafter it starts onto piazzadella Vittoria. From there,following the steps on theleft after the picturesque viaSan Michele, one arrives atVilla San Michele (#16). Itwas built by Swedish physi-cian Axel Munthe at the turnof the 20th century on thegrounds of an ancientRoman villa. The gardenshave a great views of the is-land, the Sorrentine Penin-sula and Mount Vesuvius.The villa and its grounds siton a ledge at the top of theso-called Phoenician Steps(Scala Fenicia), built betweenAnacapri and Capri veryprobably by the f irst Greeksettlers (the stairs are verysteep and not for everybody).There is a small entrance fee,but it's well worth it (Moreinformation at: www.san-michele.org).Further down, on the right,

a brief detour on via SanNicola will lead to theChiesa di San Michele Ar-cangelo (#17). Built in thebaroque style, it is known forits tile floor, which is a mo-saic depicting the expulsion

of Adam & Eve from paradise(by artist Leonardo Chi-aiese).Back on via Orlandi, there

is a little square, piazza Ma-terita, with a small churchbuilt between the 16th and18th century. Behind thechurch is the ancient urbancenter of Anacapri, whichpreserves many of the fea-tures of the traditional archi-tecture of the area.Continuing along via Or-

landi, one reaches piazzettadi Caprile, a small squarefrom where a street by thesame name passes throughthe old neighborhood ofStarza. At the end, on theleft, is Villa il Rosaio (#18),built by Edwin Cerio, aprominent writer, engineer,architect and historian bornto an English artist motherand a well-known physicianfrom Capri.

Grotta AzzurraA vacation on Capri is not

complete without a visit tothe Grotta Azzurra, whoseenchanted cavern attractsvisitors from all over theworld. You can arrive by boatfrom the Marina Grande orby land from Anacapri,where you can transfer onto

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Via Arco Naturale willthen take one to a squarefacing the sea from where aset of stairs opens into theArco Naturale (#13), a natu-ral arch on the mountaincliff. Caused by erosion ofthe limestone, the archforms a landscape of wildbeauty due to.A steep flight of steps goes

to the Grotta di Matermania(#14), or Cave of Materma-nia, on the left. It is an im-pressive natural cavern, heldsacred to the cult of Cybele(Magna Mater, hence thename of the grotto) or to thegod Mithras, which wasmade into an apsidal hall, ornympheum, by the Romansand was once covered withmosaics.The Belvedere of Tragara

(#15) is in a shady, smallsquare with a splendid viewon the Faraglioni and MarinaPiccola. To the left is VillaVismara, which was built inthe 30s and later convertedinto the Punta TragaraHotel. Descending along viaFaraglioni, on ones right, isvia Pizzolango and then,through a pine forest, to thesmall Tragara seaport, whichhas traces of an ancientRoman harbor. On the rightyou will see the Faraglioni.

The other center of the is-land is Anacapri, a smallerand a quieter town, with gra-cious streets, white housesimmersed in green, eleganthotels and the ruins of an-

Grotta Azzurra

Anacapri

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Hiking in CapriCapri to Faraglioni and

Arco Naturale A beautiful 1 hour path be-

tween Arco Naturale and theFaraglioni (sea stacks): Fromthe Piazzetta in Capri town,go down via VittorioEmanuele to via Camerelleto via Tragara, which leads tothe Belvedere Tragara look-ing over the Faraglioni. Headdown the nearby walkway(via Faraglioni will turn intovia Pizzolungo); you willsoon pass the steep beach ac-cess road (you can detourhere if you want to go towater). Continuing past VillaMalaparte (a famous pink-red villa built on Punto Mas-sullo at the end of the 1930'sfor Italian writer Curzio Ma-laparte, it is both eccentricand extraordinarily modern),up and down several stairs tothe Matermania cave. Keepon heading up the stairs tothe Grotelle restaurant. Atthe restaurant, head right,where stairs lead down tothe Arco Naturale (going left,down via Matermania, takesyou back to the Piazzetta).You can also turn off viaMatermania to via Tiberio,to head up to Villa Jovis. Al-ternatively, you can do the

hike in reverse, which is eas-ier (as it spreads out theclimbing): from the Piazzettahead down via Le Botteghe,following signs for the ArcoNaturale; once you reachGrottelle restaurant just dothe loop in reverse.

Anacapri to Migliara About 45 minutes long,

easy walk through the coun-tryside to a beautiful look-out; from via Caposcuro nearMonte Solar chair lift, headsouth; the street turns intovia Migliara and ends at thecliffs. Magical at sunset.

Anacapri to Marina Grande Heading the other way on

via Caposcuro leads to a se-ries of 881 stairs (the ScalaFenicia) hugging the cliff,leading down to the MarinaGrande.

Monte Solaro Anacapri has a chair lift

that takes you to the highestpoint on the island openMar-Oct 9:30 A.M.-4:30P.M., Nov-Feb 9:30 A.M.-3P.M.; you can also hike up ordown, passing the 14th cen-tury hermitage of SantaMaria Cetrella (the hike upbegins at via Capodimonte,near Villa S. Michele).

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little boats able to enter thelow entrance to the grotto.Known to the Romans, it

owes its fascinating aspect toa geological phenomenonthat caused its lowering byabout 20 meters, bringingthe entrance to the cave toalmost below sea level.The light, f iltered by the

crystalline water, f ills thecave with an intense bluewith silver reflections.. Al-most 60 yards long, 15 wideand 30 high, the grotto goesinwards through the PillarGallery, rich with stalactites.Various boats will take youthere from Marina Grande.

Beaches

Blessed with enchantingcoves and imposing cliffs,Capri has bathingestablishments on its rockyshoreline and some on sandybeaches. Some of theestablishments on the rockyshore are at the Faraglioni(easily reached descendingon foot from Tragara), andthe Grotta Azzurra. Sandybeaches are to be found atMarina Grande, MarinaPiccola and Bagni di Tiberio(#19), or Baths of Tiberius.

Bouganvillea in Capri