 It is possible to visit Capri from Amalfi in one day by using an early morning ferry or hydrofoil. Capri is a small island 6 km long and 3 km wide and lies just off the far end of the Sorrentine Peninsula. During the Roman times Augustus retreated to the island to escape the cares of office and later Tiberius moved the Imperial capital here. After the Romans left, Capri was rather neglected until the early nineteenth century, when the discovery of the Blue Grotto and the island's remarkable natural landscape coincided nicely with the rise of tourism. The island has never looked back, attracting a steady flow of artists and writers. Capri is pure enchantment and can lay fair claim to being the most beautiful island in the Mediterranean.With more than 800 species of plant, it is very much a garden perched on a rugged chunk of limestone. Ferries and hydrofoils dock at Marina Grande, one of the four towns of the island. From here you can take boats to the Blue Grotto "Grotta Azzurra", probably the island's best known feature. The grotto is quietly impressive, the blue of its interior caused by the sun entering into the cave through the water, but it's rather overrated and the process is all over so quickly as to be barely worth the trip down here, let alone the extortionate fees. |
Capri — Capri is the main town of the island, nestled between two mountains, its houses connected by winding, hilly alleyways that give onto the main square of Piazza Umberto, crowded with café tables and invariably a lot of people. From the main square you can walk down a alleyway street through some of the nicest boutiques and luxurious hotels and reach the "Certosa di San Giacomo", a rundown old monastery with a handful of paintings. On the right of the monastery, the "Giardini di Augusto" give tremendous views of the coast below and the towering cliffs above. From here you can wind down to either the rocky beach below, or beyond to Marina Piccola. Up above the Certosa, begins a pleasant walk path to Punta Tragara and to the Belvedere del Cannone which has marvellous views, especially over the Faraglioni rocks. If you are going to stay overnight, you may have time to visit Villa Jovis, the ruins of the Tiberius's Villa (a steep thirty-minutes walk from Piazza Umberto).
Anacapri — Anacapri is the other main town of the island, more sprawling than Capri itself and less obviously picturesque, its main square, Piazza Vittoria, flanked by souvenir shops, bland fashion boutiques and restaurants decked with tourist menus — Capri without the chic. During the season, a chair lift operates from Piazza Vittoria up to Monte Solaro, shifting you up to the summit of the mountain at 596 m. high, the island's highest point, in about twelve minutes. At the top there's only a ruined castle and a café, but the location is very tranquil and the views are marvellous. A short walk from the Piazza you can visit the village's principal sight, the church of San Michele, with an amazing hand painted tiled floor. In the opposite direction from the Piazza, you may visit the Villa San Michele built by Axel Munthe, a Swedish writer. The gardens offer spectacular views over Marina Grande, the Gulf of Naples and the Vesuvius. |
