Nestled between the Castiglione and Tuoro hills, this grand, palatial complex was for centuries a Carthusian monastery dedicated to St. James -- these days it's shuttered for a major renovation, with the wraps to come off sometime in early 2007. It was founded between 1363 and 1371 by Count Giacomo Arcucci, who was given the lands and the means to create the monastery by Queen Giovanna I of Naples; the count himself then became a monk, but died, along with the queen, during the upheaval of the Angevin monarchy. After the monastery was sacked by the pirate Dragut in the 16th century, it was heavily restored and rebuilt -- thanks in part to heavy taxes exacted from the populace. The friars within were often detested by the Capresi because they refused to open their gates to minister to them when plague broke out.

You normally enter the complex via a grandly imposing entryway, which leads to the Biblioteca Comunale Popolare Luigi Bladier (public library) and the spacious church of San Giacomo (built in 1690). After admiring the church's Baroque frescoes, follow the signpost down toward the Parco, which leads down an avenue flanked by pittosporum and magnolia toward the monastery gardens and some welcome benches. Beyond a covered road lies the Chiostro Grande (Large Cloister) -- originally the site of the monks' cells and now the temporary home of a high school. Nearby is the much prettier 15th-century Chiostro Piccolo (Small Cloister), often the venue for summertime open-air concerts. The showstoper here is the Museo Diefenbach, comprising a collection of large canvases by the German painter K. W. Diefenbach, who visited Capri in 1900 and stayed until his death in 1913. Not even a protracted stay on such an uplifting island was able to cure Diefenbach of his chronic depression, and his tormented soul emerges clearly in his stunningly powerful paintings, filled with apocalyptic storms and saintly apparitions. For years, Diefenbach rivaled the Blue Grotto for sheer picturesqueness -- he was given to greeting visitors replete with flowing white beard, monk's cowl, and primitive sandals. For a peek at Diefenbach's paintings, log on to www.capriweb.com/Capri/Diefenbach. From La Piazzetta take Via Vittorio Emanuele and then Via F. Serena to reach this beautiful monastic complex, one of the highlights of historic Capri.