WELCOME TO CAPRI
Capri, which lies in the heart of the island, is a postcard with bright colors , the jewel of the Gulf of Naples and together with the quiet Anacapri, located on the hills, the most exclusive part of the island of Capri, which offers its guests spectacular views, can be considered the main part of the island. It offers two harbours, Marina Piccola and Marina Grande (the most popular harbour of the island).
The first inhabitants to settle in Capri were the Greek “Teleboi” in the VIII Century BC and the name can be traced back to the Greeks, the first colonists to arrive in the island.
Capri has a wonderful coastline which can only be appreciated by sea.
The coast is also formed by numerous caves with steep cliffs that drop sharply to the sea. Under the rocks there are many caves, which in the Roman period were used as nymphaeas of luxurious villas built during the Empire. With our boat tour around Capri you will discover the natural beauty of the island, the The Blue Grotto and the The White Grotto, the bay of Marina Piccola
the most beautiful beaches of Capri Island, famous for its spectacular views of the Faraglioni.
A walk around the island is never enough to explore its natural beauty full of plants and rocks of all sizes, from where you can see a glimpse of the sea, the massive Faraglioni that seem to float in the clear waters, the The Blue Grotto, the Gulf of Naples and the Gardens of Augustus. The Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius have undoubtedly contributed to the history of the island.
The presence of the ancient Roman dates back to 29 BC when the emperor Augustus arrived in Capri. Indeed the island still preserves the testimony of the past: the ruins of Acropolis Greek, the Bagni di Tiberio, Villa Iovis and Villa San Michele. But there is much more to discover in Capri. In its bays and corners of natural beauty lie many other ruins with their long and fantastic histories.
Anacapri
A place of beauty, love, and mystery is a wonderful and quite place set on the island of Capri, the most exclusive and unspoiled part of the island. Once you get there, you''ll experience an island paradise like what you see in postcards. The main part of it is, of course, the beaches with its powder fine sand and massive rocks.
Marina Piccola
On the south side of the island of Capri lies the bay of Marina Piccola. It is only 15 minutes away from the Piazzetta. It has always been a group of corral-fishermen''s houses facing two tiny beaches not so far away from an ancient roman dock. Since 1930 the area has constantly developed. Indeed the tourist sector has known a significant progress because of its good position and marvellous natural beauty.
Marina Piccola is popular even for its fort which has been transformed into a summer residence by the physician von Behring. After the war the English singer Grace Fields bought the residence and it has been transformed by the artist into a bathing establishment called Canzone del Mare.
Faraglioni
It is the greatest feature of the island and is formed by four reefs floating in the blue sea.
The first is called Stella or Star and it is 109 meters high; the second is called Mezzo or Middle and it is 81 meters high, the third faraglione is 104 meters high and hosts a blue lizard, a rare animal species; finally the fourth faraglione lies by itself and it is called the Monacone.
It took its name from a sea lion who used to live there centuries ago.
Gardens of Augustus
The owner was Friedrich Alfred Krupp, who moved to Capri at the end of the 20th century.
The gardens were built among the ruins of ancient Roman Empire.
Krupp gave the gardens to the town of Capri and in the garden lies a statue of Lenin by the sculptor Manzu.
The White Grotto
The White Grotto and the cave are two wonderful cavities both directly accessible from the sea through a series of very steep steps built in 1901 by two Englishmen.
The caves are strongly suggestive for the strange shapes that their stalactites and stalagmites have taken over the centuries.
The White Grotto is divided into two basins communicating by a two- meter- long canal. The grotto is marvellous especially for the series of its horizontal sediments.
Beaches of Capri
The most popular beaches of the island are: Bagni Internazionali, La Canzone del Mare, La Fontelina, Lido del Faro, Torre Saracena e Da Antonio. The beaches are soaked in a fantastic atmosphere rich of suggestive natural beauty like a postcard full of coloured building all around with its massive rocks which doubtless remain the paradise described in the novels of the most popular artists and writers who inhabited the Island over the course of centuries.
Boat Tour around Capri
A bout tour around the island of Capri is a magic moment to live with your family and your friends to admire the natural, wild beauty of the island and especially the spectacular dramatic coast characterized by numerous creeks, tiny bays and caves. We offer a very exciting bout tour to show you all these natural beauty described in this pages and shown trough all these fantastic pictures which can become reality soon if you book a place on our boat. With captain Ago, our sailor, it is also possible to discover the seabed rich in flora and fauna and make a bath sea in the intense blue water of the island. Our sailor is an expert, who can be a local guide because he is familiar with the sea and its currents. We recommend you not to miss this exhilarating excursion this summer.
Marina Grande
Marina Grande lies in the wonderful island of Capri in the bay on north side of the island, in front of Naples and its gulf.
It is considered to be one of the most attractive port in the South of Italy. It is popular also for its coloured and renovated buildings facing the blue see just in front of it and moreover for its numerous boats and ships floating in the blue water of the port.
It can be divided into two parts: the west arm which works as commercial port, and the east arm which today is very crowded with hydrofoils going from this port to the other points and destinations of the Bay of Naples, and with many yachts and marvellous sailing boats from all over the world.
The commercial port was built in 1928, while the east port or the tourist port was built about thirty years ago.
The Blue Grotto
The Blue Grotto is the symbol of the island and brings with it a very long history.
In 1826 was described in the stories of the German writer Augusto Kopisch, who described its natural beauty.
The grotto has very ancient origins and it was certainly a nymphaea of one of the richest houses of the coast.
Indeed, going back further in time, it is dated back to the Roman Empire, proved by the statues discovered in the grotto.
Its light colour is a miracle of nature. Sunlight creeps in the cavity and reflecting on the sea gives the light back to it creating a shine blue.
The locals knew the grotto under the name of Grodola and it was avoided because, according to ancient legends, it was populated by witches and monsters.
Villa San Michele
It was built by Swedish physician and writer Axel Munthe, author of the famous novel The Story of San Michele. The villa was built by transforming a simple rustic home and an ancient chapel dedicated to St. Michele initially built on the ruins of the Augustan age, which testify the presence of a luxurious residence.
It is an imposing building of great stylistic freedom, surrounded by a massive and well-maintained garden. It is owned by the Swedish Foundation Munthe and it is open to the public. Moreover it is conserved in a suggestive atmosphere with many rustic and antique furniture and numerous pieces of excavation.
Villa Jovis
This villa is the largest monument of the island built during Tiberius Empire. Placed on top of Mount Tiberio, at 354 meters above sea level, in an exceptional position, it was the main house of Emperor Tiberius, and its design reflects the rigorous personality of the Emperor. It is divided into a several different floors terraced situated all along the hill with a distance of 40 meters one from another.
The reason why the villa was built was the need for water. Indeed the architects were forced to build a complex system of canals to pick the rain water up and save it for the emergencies. The rooms of the villa are narrow and small and over the years the villa has been destroyed by the weather.
Charterhouse of San Giacomo
The Charterhouse of San Giacomo is a marvellous monument of Capri-style architecture and was built in the 14th century by Count Giacomo Arcucci, adviser to the queen of Naples, Joan I of Anjou. During the 17th century, the Charterhouse was extended and restored with Baroque basics. The Charterhouse offers two beautiful cloisters in different dimensions. Today it is possible to visit the museum, the library and the school in the charterhouse. You can enter the monument taking an avenue where at the end of it you can find another entrance with a tower. Beside the tower there is the porch of the Church. The Charterhouse of San Giacomo is structured in three blocks of buildings: outside there is the convent with pharmacy and the church for women, some steps ahead there is the a building for monks with the stables and laboratories where they used to work; and finally another block with the cells around the Big Cloister and other areas around the Little Cloister.
Church of San Costanzo
This is a very cosy church in Byzantine style dated back to the year 1000. It has taken its name from the Patron Saint of Capri, Costanzo. The church is few steps away from Marina Grande, surrounded by very attractive sites and tourist places.
Villa Damecuta
Villa Damecuta is one of the twelve Imperial Roman villas located in Anacapri. Now there are few ruins left and it’s very difficult to determine whether it was inhabited only by Tiberius or also by Augustus. By analysing these ruins we can traced back to the structure of a long portico balcony, open toward the Gulf of Naples and 80 meters long, which ended with a large semicircular terrace. It is said that in 79 A.D. the villa was abandoned after the explosion of Vesuvius.
Casa Rossa (Red House)
Casa Rossa, painted in Pompeian red, was built in more architectural styles with battlements and mullioned windows. Inside there is the structure of a square tower and a courtyard. The owner was the American Colonel John H. Cay Mackowen, arrived in Italy just after the American Civil War and settled in Anacapri until 1899. He followed the example of Axel Munthe: he gathered many archaeological ruins in his house.
Castello Barbarossa
This delightful and romantic castle, whose ruins stand on the cliffs of Anacapri, in the middle of a relaxing Mediterranean maquis, took its name from the most terrible sacking in 1535 by the Algerian corsair Kair-ed-Din, the well-known Saracen pirate Barbarossa.
It is probably the largest fortification of the Byzantine age. It was built with material taken from Roman buildings.
Villa Lysis
Villa Lysis, also known as Villa Fersen lies not far from the ruins of Villa Jovis. It was surrounded by vineyards and cypresses of a massive garden.
The residence was built in 1905 and initially was called The Gloriette but later took the name of Villa Lysis dedicated to Liside, disciple of Socrates and mentioned by Plato in his dialogues.