| Paulo |
Jan 25th, 2001 06:53 AM |
The house may be Villa San Michele, on the slopes of Capodimonte (not up Mount Solaro). Villa San Michele was owned by doctor Axel Munthe (a Swede). <BR> <BR> <BR>Posted this a couple of years ago ... <BR> <BR>Message: We also visited for a single day some years back (in July). We had our own boat (a cousin's), arrived at 8:30am and left at 8pm, and saw quite a bit. We went directly to the Grotta Azzurra, trying to get there before the hords of tourists to no avail. Since there was a 2-hour wait to get in the Grotta we decided to skip it. We went on past Marina Grande, to Grotta del Bove Marino, Punta del Capo, Grotta Meravigliosa and Grotta Bianca, Grotta Matermania and Arco Naturale, Punta di Tragara and Faraglioni islets, Grotta del Arsenale and stopped at Marina Piccola, with its beautiful small beaches and fishing boats haven. From there we hiked up Via Krupp (very nice ... clinging to the rock face) to the Certosa di San Giacomo (late Romanesque pictures by Diefenbach) and adjoining church (Gothic doorway, frescoes and two cloisters) and Giardini Augusto, with its beautiful view of Punta di Tragara and the Faraglioni from the top. Then we proceeded along the main shopping street to town center and enjoyed the nice Piazza Umberto I and Chiesa di Santo Stefano. After the ladies were through with their shopping tour (while we relaxed taking a beer in the Piazza <g>) we had a quick snack and hiked along the very attractive footpath Via Tiberio to the Il Capo promontory, Salto di Tiberio, Villa di Tiberio and the chapel of Santa Maria del Soccorso. A short footpath took us to the Arco Naturale. Hiking back to Capri town, we took a cab to Anacapri, lovely Moorish village in aspect, straggling over the plateau and surrounded by vineyards. There we visited the Villa San Michele with its nice furniture and sculptures, the chiesa di San Michele (fine Majolica pavement representing the Garden of Eden), the Santa Sofia church and Castello di Barbarossa. We then descended the Scala Fenicia and got to the Marina Grande port. A funicular took us back to Capri town and after some more window shopping we took the nice Via Madre Serafina (almost entirely vaulted) to the Cannone Belvedere and its view. Since it was already late afternoon, we went back to the boat and completed the tour around the island (Punta Ventroso, Grotta Verde, Grotta Rossa, Punta Carena and Caia del Rio. We didn't make it <BR>1- up Monte Solaro (which is supposed to offer an explendid view - chairlift) <BR>2- to the Belvedere del Miraglia, out of Anacapri (2 hours program); <BR>3- to the ruins of Damecuta, out of Anacapri (2 1/2 hours program); <BR>4- to the Belvedere di Tragara (1 hour program out of Capri town); <BR>5- to the Grotta di Matermania, then to Punta di Tragara, and back to Capri (2 1/2 hour program out of Capri, including the Arco Naturale) <BR> <BR>Indeed, Capri town was a zoo till about 5pm. Aftewards it got much better. Surprisingly, the hiking paths were not crowded at all. If we were to spend a couple of nights in the Island, we certainly would prefer to stay in Anacapri (most visitors prefer to stay in Capri town, though). <BR> <BR>Paulo
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