![Capri and Ischia map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Capri_and_Ischia_map.png)
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
located in the
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...
off the
Sorrento Peninsula
The Sorrento Peninsula or Sorrentine Peninsula is a peninsula located in southern Italy which separates the Gulf of Naples to the north from the Gulf of Salerno to the south.
Geography
Overview
The peninsula is named after its main town, Sorr ...
, on the south side of the
Gulf of Naples
The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9.3 mi) gulf located along the south-western coast of Italy (province of Naples, Campania region). It opens to the west into the Mediterranean Sea. It i ...
in the
Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
region of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. The main town of
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
that is located on the island shares the name. It has been a
resort
A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...
since the time of the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
.
Some of the main features of the island include the (the little harbour), the Belvedere of Tragara (a high panoramic promenade lined with villas), the limestone crags called sea stacks that project above the sea (the ), the town of
Anacapri
Anacapri () is a ''comune'' on the island of Capri, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy.
Anacapri is located higher on the island than Capri (about higher on average)http://www.capritourism.com/imgg/download/capri_map_en.pdf —the Anc ...
, the
Blue Grotto (), the ruins of the Imperial Roman villas, and the vistas of various towns surrounding the Island of Capri including Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Sorrento, Nerano, and Naples.
Capri is part of the region of
Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
,
Metropolitan City of Naples
The Metropolitan City of Naples ( it, Città metropolitana di Napoli) is an Italian metropolitan city in Campania region, established on 1 January 2015. Its capital city is Naples; within the city there are 92 comunes (municipalities).
It was ...
. The town of
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
is a and the island's main population centre. The island has two harbours, and (the main port of the island). The separate of Anacapri is located high on the hills to the west.
Etymology
The etymology of the name Capri is unclear; it might be traced back to the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
meaning '
wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
', as the Greeks, who were the first recorded colonists to populate the island, called it (). It could also derive from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
('
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
s'). Fossils of wild boars have been discovered, lending credence to the etymology; on the other hand, the Romans called Capri ''goat island''.
Finally, there is also the possibility that the name derives from an
Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy
*Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization
**Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
** Etrusca ...
word for 'rocky', though any historical Etruscan rule of the island is disputed. Capri consists of limestone and sandstone rock; cliffs form much of the sides and surface of the island.
Government
The voters of the island elect representatives for the two municipalities () on the island. The chosen representatives then choose two mayors to govern with them.
History
Ancient and Roman times
The island has been inhabited since early times. Evidence of human settlement was discovered during the Roman era; according to
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire.
His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...
, when the foundations for the villa of
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
were being excavated, giant bones and 'weapons of stone' were discovered. The emperor ordered these to be displayed in the garden of his main residence, the Sea Palace.
Modern excavations have shown that human presence on the island can be dated to the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
and the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
. Augustus developed Capri; he built temples, villas, aqueducts, and planted gardens so he could enjoy his private paradise.
In his ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
'',
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
states that the island had been populated by the Greek people of Teleboi, coming from the
Ionian Islands. Strabo says that "in ancient times in Capri there were two towns, later reduced to one."
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
records that there were twelve Imperial villas in Capri. Ruins of one at Tragara could still be seen in the 19th century.
Augustus' successor
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
built a series of villas at Capri, the most famous of which is the
Villa Jovis
Villa Jovis ("Villa of Jupiter") is a Roman palace on Capri, southern Italy, built by emperor Tiberius and completed in AD 27. Tiberius ruled mainly from there until his death in AD 37.
Villa Jovis is the largest of the twelve Tiberian villas ...
, one of the best-preserved Roman villas in Italy. In 27 AD, Tiberius permanently moved to Capri, running the
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
from there until his death in 37 AD.
In 182 AD, Emperor
Commodus
Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...
banished his sister
Lucilla
Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla or Lucilla (7 March 148 or 150 – 182) was the second daughter of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger. She was the wife of her father's co-ruler and adoptive brother Lucius Verus ...
to Capri. She was executed shortly afterwards.
Middle and Modern Ages
![Capri BW 2013-05-14 16-04-44 DxO](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Capri_BW_2013-05-14_16-04-44_DxO.jpg)
After the end of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
, Capri returned to the status of a dominion of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, and suffered various attacks and ravages by pirates. In 866 Emperor
Louis II gave the island to
Amalfi
Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...
. In 987
Pope John XV
Pope John XV ( la, Ioannes XV; died on 1 April 996) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from August 985 until his death. A Roman by birth, he was the first pope who canonized a saint. The origins of the investiture controversy s ...
consecrated the first bishop of Capri, when Capri,
Scala,
Minori, and
Lettere
Lettere is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the southern central Italian region Campania, located about 30 km southeast of Naples.
Lettere borders the following municipalities: Angri, Casola di Napoli, Corbara ...
were made dioceses to serve as
suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...
s of
Amalfi
Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...
, which thereby became a
metropolitan see
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a t ...
. Capri continued to be a residential diocese until 1818, when the island became part of the
archdiocese of Sorrento. No longer a residential bishopric, Capri, Capreae in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, is today listed by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
as a
titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
.
In 1496,
Frederick IV of Naples
Frederick (April 19, 1452 – November 9, 1504), sometimes called Frederick IV or Frederick of Aragon, was the last King of Naples from the Neapolitan branch of the House of Trastámara, ruling from 1496 to 1501. He was the second son of Ferdinan ...
established legal and administrative parity between the settlements of Capri and Anacapri. The pirate raids reached their peak during the reign of
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
: the famous Turkish admirals
Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha
Hayreddin Barbarossa ( ar, خير الدين بربروس, Khayr al-Din Barbarus, original name: Khiḍr; tr, Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa), also known as Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1478 – 4 July 1546), was an O ...
and
Turgut Reis
Dragut ( tr, Turgut Reis) (1485 – 23 June 1565), known as "The Drawn Sword of Islam", was a Muslim Ottoman naval commander, governor, and noble, of Turkish or Greek descent. Under his command, the Ottoman Empire's maritime power was extended ...
captured the island for the Ottoman Empire, in 1535 and 1553, respectively.
The first recorded
tourist
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
to visit the island was French antiques dealer
Jean-Jacques Bouchard
Jean-Jacques Bouchard (30 October 1606, in Paris – 26 August 1641, in Rome) was a French writer. He was the son of Jean Bouchard, Secretary of the King, and Claude Merceron, a relation of Gilles Ménage, from a recently ennobled family composed ...
in the 17th century. His diary, found in 1850, is an important information source about Capri.
1800s–present
![Villa Behring on Capri](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Villa_Behring_on_Capri.jpg)
French troops under
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
occupied Capri in January 1806. The British ousted the French in the following May, after which Capri was turned into a powerful naval base (a "Second
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
"), but the building program caused heavy damage to the archaeological sites. The French reconquered Capri in 1808, and remained there until the end of the Napoleonic era (1815), when Capri was returned to the Bourbon ruling house of Naples.
The
natural scientist
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatabili ...
Ignazio Cerio catalogued Capri's
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
and
fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
during the 19th century. His work was continued by his son, author and engineer
Edwin Cerio, who wrote several books on life in Capri in the 20th century.
Prior to the First World War the island was extremely popular with wealthy gay men.
John Ellingham Brooks
John Ellingham Brooks (3 June 1863 – 31 May 1929) was an English classical scholar. He was an associate and lover of Somerset Maugham, whom he met when they were both studying in Heidelberg in 1890. In later life, he was part of the circle of ...
and
Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
shared a villa there.
Friedrich Alfred Krupp
Friedrich Alfred Krupp (17 February 1854 – 22 November 1902) was a German steel manufacturer and head of the company Krupp. He was the son of Alfred Krupp and inherited the family business when his father died in 1887. Whereas his father had ...
, the German industrialist, was accused of homosexual orgies
and eventually committed suicide.
Norman Douglas
George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel ''South Wind''. His travel books, such as ''Old Calabria'' (1915), were also appreciated for the quality of their writing.
L ...
,
Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen
Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen (20 February 1880 – 5 November 1923) was a French novelist and poet. His life forms the basis of a fictionalised 1959 novel by Roger Peyrefitte entitled '' The Exile of Capri'' ''(L'exilé de Capri)''.
In 190 ...
,
Christian Wilhelm Allers
Christian Wilhelm Allers (6 August 1857 – 19 October 1915) was a German painter and printmaker.
Biography
Allers, the son of a merchant, was born in Hamburg. He first worked as a lithographer, and in 1877 he moved to Karlsruhe where he ...
,
Emil von Behring
Emil von Behring (; Emil Adolf von Behring), born Emil Adolf Behring (15 March 1854 – 31 March 1917), was a German physiologist who received the 1901 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the first one awarded in that field, for his discovery ...
,
Curzio Malaparte
Curzio Malaparte (; 9 June 1898 – 19 July 1957), born Kurt Erich Suckert, was an Italian writer, filmmaker, war correspondent and diplomat. Malaparte is best known outside Italy due to his works ''Kaputt'' (1944) and ''La pelle'' (1949). The f ...
,
Axel Munthe
Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe (31 October 1857 – 11 February 1949) was a Swedish-born medical doctor and psychiatrist, best known as the author of ''The Story of San Michele'', an autobiographical account of his life and work. He spoke several la ...
,
Louis Coatalen
Louis Hervé Coatalen (11 September 1879 – 23 May 1962) was an automobile engineer and racing driver born in Brittany who spent much of his adult life in Britain and took British nationality. He was a pioneer of the design and development of inte ...
and
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
are all reported to have owned a villa there, or to have stayed there for more than three months. Swedish Queen
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
often stayed there because Axel Munthe was her doctor.
Rose O'Neill
Rose Cecil O'Neill (June 25, 1874 – April 6, 1944) was an American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer. She rose to fame for her creation of the popular comic strip characters, Kewpies, in 1909, and was also the first published fema ...
, the American illustrator and creator of the
Kewpie
Kewpie is a brand of dolls and figurines that were conceived as comic strip characters by cartoonist Rose O'Neill. The illustrated cartoons, appearing as baby cupid characters, began to gain popularity after the publication of O'Neill's comic ...
, owned the Villa Narcissus, formerly owned by the famous Beaux-Arts painter
Charles Caryl Coleman
Charles Caryl Coleman (April 25, 1840 in Buffalo, New York – December 5, 1928 in Capri, Italy) was an American artist.
Early life
Coleman was born in Buffalo, New York to John Hull Coleman (1813) and Charlotte Augusta (née Caryl) Coleman. H ...
. Dame
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...
also had a villa and restaurant on the island and is buried there.
In 1908,
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
was hosted by
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
, the Russian author, at his house near the Giardini Augusto. In 1970, a monument by
Giacomo Manzù
Giacomo Manzù, pseudonym of Giacomo Manzoni (22 December 1908 – 17 January 1991), was an Italian sculptor.
Biography
Manzù was born in Bergamo. His father was a shoemaker. Other than a few evening art classes, he was self-taught in s ...
was erected during the centennial celebration in Lenin's honour.
Capri, as with the Sicilian resort of
Taormina
Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...
, became "high on the list of places to be visited by homosexual northerners", according to
Gregory Woods
Gregory Woods (born 1953 in Egypt) is a British poet. He was the Chair in Gay and Lesbian Studies at Nottingham Trent University from 1998 to 2013. He is the author of five books of literary and LGBT studies criticism, and seven poetry collect ...
, Chair in Gay and Lesbian Studies. The
history of Taormina
Taormina dates to around 396 BC after Dionysius I of Syracuse destroyed nearby Naxos in 403 BC and the Siculi formed a new settlement on the nearby Mount Taurus which gradually grew up into the city of Tauromenium (modern Taormina).
After the fal ...
was changed by the presence of
Wilhelm von Gloeden
Wilhelm Iwan Friederich August von Gloeden (September 16, 1856 – February 16, 1931), commonly known as Baron von Gloeden, was a German photographer who worked mainly in Italy. He is mostly known for his pastoral nude studies of Sicilian boy ...
, known for his homoerotic photography, whose studio from 1878-1931 drew many visitors to the town. Both Capri and Taormina were tolerant of gay men and artists, and there was much interchange between the two places. In December 1897
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
was planning to winter in Naples with his lover
Lord Alfred Douglas
Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas (22 October 1870 – 20 March 1945), also known as Bosie Douglas, was an English poet and journalist, and a lover of Oscar Wilde. At Oxford he edited an undergraduate journal, ''The Spirit Lamp'', that carried a homoer ...
; the couple made a short visit to Capri, but their presence proved too scandalous for even that liberal island ("They even denied us bread!"), so "Bosie" headed back to England and Wilde made his way to Taormina, where he spent time with von Gloeden. Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen, who settled in Capri and built
Villa Lysis, visited von Gloeden in 1923, bringing with him his schoolboy lover/secretary.
Today, Capri has become more of a resort and is visited by tourists during the summer months of July and August.
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
owns a villa on the island.
Cultural references
![Grotta azzurra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Grotta_azzurra.jpg)
During the later half of the 19th century, Capri became a popular resort for European artists, writers and other celebrities. The book that spawned the 19th century fascination with Capri in France, Germany, and England was ('Discovery of the Blue Grotto on the Isle of Capri') by the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
painter and writer
August Kopisch
August Kopisch (26 May 1799 – 6 February 1853) was a German poet and painter.
Biography
Kopisch was born on 26 May 1799 in Breslau, Prussia (now Wrocław, Poland). In 1815 he began studying painting at the Prague academy, but an injury t ...
, in which he describes his 1826 stay on the island and his (re)discovery of the
Blue Grotto.
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...
and
Frank Hyde
Frank Hyde MBE OAM (7 February 1916 – 24 September 2007) was an Australian rugby league footballer, coach and radio caller. A New South Wales representative three-quarter, Hyde played his club football in Sydney for NSWRFL Premiership clubs ...
are among the prominent artists who stayed on the island around the late 1870s. Sargent is known for his series of portraits featuring local model
Rosina Ferrara
Rosina Ferrara (1861–1934) was an Italian artist's model from the island of Capri, who became the favorite muse of American expatriate artist John Singer Sargent. Captivated by her exotic beauty, a variety of 19th-century artists, including ...
. The English artist and adventurer, John Wood Shortridge, acquired a fortino at
Marina Piccola
Marina Piccola ("little harbor"; also Marina di Mulo) is located on the southern side of the island of Capri. It is near the Faraglioni sea stacks to the southeast. The Via Krupp is a historic switchback paved footpath which connect the Charterho ...
in the 1880s, (later transformed into a private villa by Dame
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...
) and married a Capri girl, Carmela Esposito. He formed a close friendship with the English novelist
George Gissing
George Robert Gissing (; 22 November 1857 – 28 December 1903) was an English novelist, who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. His best-known works have reappeared in modern editions. They include ''The Nether World'' (1889), ''New Grub ...
who provides a colourful and insightful account of his stays with Shortridge in his ''Published Letters of George Gissing''. In the Gissing Journal, vol. XXXV, no. 3 (July, 1999), p. 2. it is recorded that the only mention of him in a recent book, albeit partially inaccurate, occurs in James Money's ''Capri: Island of Pleasure'' (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1986, p. 42).
Claude Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
refers to the island's hills in the title of his impressionistic
prélude (1910). Capri is the setting for "
The Lotus Eater
"The Lotus Eater" is a short story by British author W. Somerset Maugham in 1935 and loosely based on the life story of John Ellingham Brooks. It was included in the 1940 collection of Maugham stories ''The Mixture as Before''.
Plot summary
The ...
" (1945), a short story by
Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
. In the story, the protagonist from Hendon, part of the borough of Barnet in London, comes to Capri on a holiday and is so enchanted by the place he gives up his job and decides to spend the rest of his life in leisure there. British novelist
Compton Mackenzie
Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish independence, Scottish nation ...
lived there from 1913 to 1920, with later visits, and set some of his work on the island (e.g. ''Vestal Fire'', 1927).
As well as being a haven for writers and artists, Capri served as a relatively safe place for foreign gay men and lesbians to lead a more open life; a small nucleus of them were attracted to live there, overlapping to some extent with the creative types mentioned above. Poet
August von Platen-Hallermünde
Karl August Georg Maximilian Graf von Platen-Hallermünde (24 October 17965 December 1835) was a German poet and dramatist. In German he mostly is called ''Graf'' (Count) Platen.
Biography
August von Platen was born on 24 October 1796 at Ansbach ...
was one of the first.
Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen
Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen (20 February 1880 – 5 November 1923) was a French novelist and poet. His life forms the basis of a fictionalised 1959 novel by Roger Peyrefitte entitled '' The Exile of Capri'' ''(L'exilé de Capri)''.
In 190 ...
wrote the (1910) about Capri and its residents in the early 20th century, causing a minor scandal. Fersen's life on Capri became the subject of
Roger Peyrefitte
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
's fictionalised biography, . A satirical presentation of the island's lesbian colony is made in Mackenzie's 1928 novel ''
Extraordinary Women'', inspired by the affairs of American painter
Romaine Brooks
Romaine Brooks (born Beatrice Romaine Goddard; May 1, 1874 – December 7, 1970) was an American painter who worked mostly in Paris and Capri. She specialized in portrait painting, portraiture and used a subdued tonal Palette (painting), palette ...
(in the novel, under the pseudonym of Olimpia Leigh). One of the island's most famous foreign gay exiles was
Norman Douglas
George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel ''South Wind''. His travel books, such as ''Old Calabria'' (1915), were also appreciated for the quality of their writing.
L ...
; his novel ''
South Wind
A south wind is a wind that originates in the south and blows in a northward direction.
Words used in English to describe the south wind are auster, buster (a violent south gale), föhn/foehn (alps), ghibli (Libya with various spellings), friage ...
'' (1917) is a thinly fictionalised description of Capri's residents and visitors, and a number of his other works, both books and pamphlets, deal with the island, including ''
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
'' (1930) and his last work, ''
A Footnote on Capri
A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...
'' (1952).
Memoirs set on Capri include
Edwin Cerio's (1928) (translated as ''That Capri Air''), which contains a number of historical and biographical essays on the island, including a tribute to Norman Douglas; ''
The Story of San Michele
''The Story of San Michele'' is a book of memoirs by Swedish physician Axel Munthe (October 31, 1857 – February 11, 1949) first published in 1929 by British publisher John Murray. Written in English, it was a bestseller in numerous language ...
'' (1929) by Swedish royal physician
Axel Munthe
Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe (31 October 1857 – 11 February 1949) was a Swedish-born medical doctor and psychiatrist, best known as the author of ''The Story of San Michele'', an autobiographical account of his life and work. He spoke several la ...
(1857–1949), who built a
villa of that name, and
Shirley Hazzard
Shirley Hazzard (30 January 1931 – 12 December 2016) was an Australian-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. She was born in Australia and also held U.S. citizenship.
Hazzard's 1970 novel ''The Bay of Noon'' was shortlisted f ...
's ''
Greene on Capri: A Memoir'' (2000), containing her reminiscences of
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
. Graham Greene had a house in the town of Anacapri, the upper portion of the island, where he lived with his lover
Catherine Walston.
Main sights
File:Capri sights.png, 520px, center, A clickable map showing some of the most important sights on Capri. (Use icon on the right to enlarge)
rect 49 952 212 1050 Punta Carena Lighthouse
Punta Carena Lighthouse ( it, Faro di Punta Carena) is an active lighthouse, located on the island of Capri on the head of the same name, about southwest of Anacapri. The lighthouse has been active since 1867; its construction began in 1862.
De ...
rect 701 575 898 725 Monte Solaro
Monte Solaro is a mountain on the island of Capri in Campania, Italy. With an elevation of 589 m, its peak is the highest point of Capri.
It contains the "Fortino di Bruto", a blockhouse which was used in battles between Britain and Fr ...
rect 1157 562 1325 636 Via Krupp
Via Krupp is a historic hairpin turn paved footpath on the island of Capri, connecting the Charterhouse of San Giacomo and the Gardens of Augustus area with Marina Piccola. Commissioned by the German industrialist Friedrich Alfred Krupp, the ...
rect 1599 396 1768 497 Arco Naturale
The Arco Naturale is a natural arch on the east coast of the island of Capri. Dating from the Paleolithic age, it is the remains of a collapsed grotto. The arch spans 12 m at a height of 18 m above ground and consists of limestone. Gallery
File ...
rect 1627 101 1789 182 Villa Lysis
rect 1772 174 1897 249 Villa Jovis
Villa Jovis ("Villa of Jupiter") is a Roman palace on Capri, southern Italy, built by emperor Tiberius and completed in AD 27. Tiberius ruled mainly from there until his death in AD 37.
Villa Jovis is the largest of the twelve Tiberian villas ...
rect 1553 765 1731 866 Faraglioni
In Italian, (; nap, faragliune ; singular in both languages) are stacks, coastal and oceanic rock formations eroded by waves.
The word may be derived from the Greek ' or Latin ("lighthouse") and is cognate with the Spanish .
They are found ...
rect 774 206 983 286 Villa San Michele
The Villa San Michele was built about the end of the 19th century on the isle of Capri, Italy, by the Swedish physician and author Axel Munthe.
Description
The villa's gardens have panoramic views of the town of Capri and its harbour, the Sor ...
rect 236 42 408 128 Blue Grotto
rect 270 682 466 881 Capri Philosophical Park
Capri Philosophical Park (Italian ''Parco Filosofico'') is situated on the outskirts of the small
town of Anacapri on the Italian island of Capri.
The park was founded in 2000 by the Swedish professor and author Gunnar Adler-Karlsson togethe ...
rect 1725 544 1910 663 Villa Malaparte
rect 1346 552 1551 618 Certosa di San Giacomo
Certosa di San Giacomo was a Carthusian monastery, founded in 1363 by Giacomo Arcucci on the island of Capri, Campania, southern Italy. It is now a museum and is used for cultural events. The buildings that formed the charterhouse have three main ...
rect 475 246 765 518 Anacapri
Anacapri () is a ''comune'' on the island of Capri, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy.
Anacapri is located higher on the island than Capri (about higher on average)http://www.capritourism.com/imgg/download/capri_map_en.pdf —the Anc ...
rect 1338 500 1514 554 Capri (town)
Capri is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples situated on the island of Capri in Italy. It comprises the centre and east of the island, while the west belongs to Anacapri.
Main sights
Sights in the municipality include Via Krupp, Fa ...
rect 1287 429 1462 501 Piazzetta
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (also called Giambattista Piazzetta or Giambattista Valentino Piazzetta) (February 13, 1682 or 1683 – April 28, 1754) was an Italian Rococo painter of religious subjects and genre scenes.
Biography
Piazzetta was ...
rect 1191 185 1446 299 Marina Grande
rect 1101 644 1307 699 Marina Piccola
Marina Piccola ("little harbor"; also Marina di Mulo) is located on the southern side of the island of Capri. It is near the Faraglioni sea stacks to the southeast. The Via Krupp is a historic switchback paved footpath which connect the Charterho ...
rect 1151 499 1318 561 Gardens of Augustus
The Gardens of Augustus ( it, Giardini di Augusto), originally known by the name of Krupp Gardens, are botanical gardens on the island of Capri, Campania, Italy.
The gardens were established by the German industrialist Friedrich Alfred Krupp in ...
rect 294 552 483 671 Torre Materita
Torre Materita is an ancient medieval tower converted into a villa located in the comune of Anacapri, Capri.
Built in 1378 by monks of the Certosa di San Giacomo to defend the population from the incursions of the Saracens, the villa is located on ...
#the following entries do not yet have articles:
#rect 129 128 344 211 Villa Damecuta
A villa is a type of house that was originally an Ancient Rome, ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, vi ...
#rect 827 90 1007 180 Bagni di Tiberio
#rect 1568 523 1710 643 Monte Tuoro
Monte may refer to:
Places Argentina
* Argentine Monte, an ecoregion
* Monte Desert
* Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province
Italy
* Monte Bregagno
* Monte Cassino
* Montecorvino (disambiguation)
* Montefalcione
Portugal
* Monte ...
#rect 1335 309 1537 422 Monte San Michele
#rect 771 369 937 511 Monte Cappello
#rect 1793 66 1990 171 Monte Tiberio
Annual events
*Capri Art Film Festival (every April since 2006)
*Festival of San Costanzo (
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of Capri) – May 14
*Festival of Sant'Antonio (patron saint of Anacapri) – June 13
*
Capri Tango Festival
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
(every June since 2007)
*International Folklore Festival (Anacapri) – August
* e (Anacapri harvest festival) – September
*
Capri Hollywood International Film Festival
The Capri Hollywood International Film Festival is an annual international film festival held every late December or early January in Capri, Italy. Established in 1995, the competition section is open to international films, animation, documentarie ...
(every late December/early January since 1995)
*Capri Hollywood
*Eventi Villa San Michele
*Premio San Michele
*Premio Faraglioni
*Premio Cari dell Enigma
*Maraton del Golfo Capri
Economy
![Grotta Meravigliosa Capri](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Grotta_Meravigliosa_Capri.jpg)
Capri is a tourist destination for both Italians and foreigners. In the 1950s, Capri became a popular resort. In summer, the island is heavily visited by tourists, especially by day trippers from Naples and Sorrento. Many of these visitors make it a point to wear the
Capri pants
Capri pants (also known as three quarter legs, or capris, crop pants, man-pris, clam-diggers, flood pants, jams, highwaters, or toreador pants) are pants that are longer than shorts, but are not as long as trousers. Capri pants can be a generic ...
named after the island. The center of Capri is the
Piazza Umberto I
Piazza Umberto I (or Piazza Umberto Primo from the 1930s, La Piazzetta, meaning "little square"; nicknamed, "the little theater of the world") is the most famous square of the island of Capri, Italy. The square is located in the historic center of ...
.
Capri is home to the Mediterranean bush, the Arboreal Euphorbia, and the Ilex Wood. The native fauna on the island include quails, robins, peregrine falcons, woodcocks, blackbirds, geckos, red goldfish, conger eels, sargos, groupers, mullets, and the blue lizard of the Faraglioni.
Capri has twelve churches, seven museums and several monuments. The most visited attraction in Capri is the ('
Blue Grotto'), a cave discovered in the 19th century by foreign tourists. On one side of the grotto are the remains of ancient Roman rock, with a narrow cavern.
As of 2018 there were plans to limit access to day tourists.
The international luxury linen clothing brand 100% Capri opened its first boutique in the main town of Capri in 2000.
Transport
![Taxi Capri](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Taxi_Capri.jpg)
Capri is served by
ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
or
hydrofoil
A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...
from
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
,
Sorrento
Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana rail ...
,
Positano
Positano (Campanian: ) is a village and ''comune'' on the Amalfi Coast (Province of Salerno), in Campania, Italy, mainly in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast.
Climate
The climate of Positano is very mild, of the Mediterranean ...
and
Amalfi
Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...
as well as by boat services from the ports of the Bay of Naples and the Sorrentine Peninsula. Boats arrive in the morning and leave after lunch (3–4 pm).
Naples is served by two ports: Mergellina and Molo Beverello. Molo Beverello has more frequent departures and a larger selection of boats than Mergellina.
From Naples, the ferry takes 80 minutes, and the hydrofoil 40 minutes. From Sorrento, the ferry takes about 40 minutes while the hydrofoil takes about 20 minutes.
Boats call at Marina Grande, from where the
Capri funicular
The Capri funicular ( it, Funicolare di Capri) is a funicular railway on the island of Capri, in the Campania region of Italy. The line connects the ''Marina Grande'' on the coast with the ''Piazza Umberto I'' in the centre of the island. It is ...
goes up to Capri town. From Anacapri, a chair lift takes passengers to
Monte Solaro
Monte Solaro is a mountain on the island of Capri in Campania, Italy. With an elevation of 589 m, its peak is the highest point of Capri.
It contains the "Fortino di Bruto", a blockhouse which was used in battles between Britain and Fr ...
, the highest point on the island. There is also a bus service that connects the centre of Capri town with Marina Grande, Marina Piccola, Anacapri and other points.
Airports
The nearest airports are:
*
Napoli-Capodichino (NAP)
*
Salerno-Pontecagnano (QSR)
Twin towns – sister cities
Capri is
twinned with:
*
Crosby, Merseyside
Crosby is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is north of Bootle, south of Southport and Formby, and west of Netherton. It abuts the areas of Blundellsands to the north and ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
See also
*
List of islands of Italy
This is a list of islands of Italy. There are over 400 islands in Italy, including islands in the Mediterranean Sea (including the marginal seas: Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea, Libyan Sea, Ligurian Sea, Sea of Sardinia, Tyrrhenian Sea, and inland isl ...
*
Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi Coast ( it, Costiera amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline in southern Italy overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno. It is located south of the Sorrentine Peninsula and north of the Cilentan Coast.
Celebrated worldwide ...
*
Ischia
Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to west ...
References
External links
Official Capri Tour GuideCapri Insider Tips— ''by the locals''.
CapriCapri 360 panoramas
Capri Island APP, a complete guide to Capri on iPadPhoto Gallery by Leonardo Bellotti
Capri Life
{{Authority control
Islands of Campania
Islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea
Geography of the Metropolitan City of Naples
Ionian colonies in Magna Graecia