Capri, Ischia, and Procida
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1. Anacapri
A tortuous road leads up to Anacapri, the island's "second city," about 3 km (2 miles) from Capri Town. To get here you can take...
A tortuous road leads up to Anacapri, the island's "second city," about 3 km (2 miles) from Capri Town. To get here you can take a bus either from Via Roma in Capri Town or from Marina Grande (both €2), or a taxi (about €30 one-way; agree on the fare before starting out). Crowds are thick down Via Capodimonte leading to Villa San Michele and around Piazza Vittoria, the square where you catch the chairlift to the top of Monte Solaro. Via Finestrale leads to the noted Le Boffe quarter, centered on the Piazza Diaz. Le Boffe owes its name to the distinctive domestic architecture prevalent here, which uses vaults and sculpted groins instead of crossbeams. Elsewhere, Anacapri is quietly appealing. It's a good starting point for walks, such as the 80-minute round-trip journey to the Migliara Belvedere, on the island's southern coast.
Anacapri, Campania, Italy -
2. Casa Rossa
Capri is famous for its villas built by artists, millionaires, and poets who became willing prisoners of Capri during the Gilded Age. Elihu Vedder, Charles...
Capri is famous for its villas built by artists, millionaires, and poets who became willing prisoners of Capri during the Gilded Age. Elihu Vedder, Charles Coleman, Lord Algernon, and the Wolcott-Perry sisters were some of the people who constructed lavish Aesthetic Movement houses. Built by the American colonel J.C. MacKowen, this particular villa, near the center of Anacapri, was erected between 1876 and 1899. With walls hued in distinctive Pompeian red, the villa incorporates a noted 15th-century Aragonese tower. A historian and archaeologist, MacKowen wrote a guide to Capri and brought to light marble fragments and statues inside the Blue Grotto, thus revealing and validating its importance as a nymphaeum in Roman times; the statues are displayed here. Local legend says that Anacapri's menfolk locked their women in Casa Rossa when they went to work in Naples, but the villa now houses a permanent exhibition called "The Painted Island," featuring 32 canvases from masters such as Brancaccio and Carelli, depicting images of Capri in the 19th and 20th centuries. A collection of oils by 20th-century Milan landscape artist Carlo Perindani was added in 2015. Don't miss the views from the highest roof terrace in central Anacapri, taking in Monte Solaro and Ischia.
Via G. Orlandi 78, Anacapri, Campania, 80071, Italy081-8382193Sight Details
Rate Includes: €4, €1 for ticket holders of chairlift or Villa San Michele -
3. Castello Aragonese
The spectacular Castello Aragonese, towering atop an islet just off the main shore, landmarks Ischia Ponte. The little island was settled as early as the...
The spectacular Castello Aragonese, towering atop an islet just off the main shore, landmarks Ischia Ponte. The little island was settled as early as the 5th century BC, when the tyrant Hiero of Syracuse came to the aid of Cumae in its power struggle against the Etruscans. This was his reward: an almost unassailable natural islet more than 300 feet high, on which he erected high watchtowers to monitor movements across the Bay of Naples. The island changed hands in the succession of centuries, with Greeks from Neapolis, Romans, Visigoths, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Saracens, Normans, Swabians, and Angevins successively modifying the fortifications and settlements. Ischia Ponte was where the population of Ischia sought refuge in 1301, when Epomeo's last eruption buried the town of Geronda on the other side of the causeway. The new influx of inhabitants led to a flurry of building activity, most notably the Cattedrale dell'Assunta, built above a preexisting chapel that then became its crypt. In the following century the Angevin castle was rebuilt by Alfonso of Aragon (1438), who gave it much of its present form. However, its turbulent history continued well into the 19th century, when it was seriously damaged by the English in their attempts to dislodge the French during the Napoleonic Wars (1809). Two hours should be enough to give you a feel of the citadel, stroll along its ramparts, and visit its key religious sites. Don't miss the frescoed 14th-century crypt beneath the cathedral (Giotto school), although the ruined cathedral itself, with its noticeable 18th-century additions—such as the Baroque stucco work—is quite atmospheric. Occasional exhibitions are held in the Chiesa dell'Immacolata, and there are two bars. Access to the citadel is via an elevator from the base, and the various walks at the top are clearly signposted. While taking in the whole site, enjoy the stunning views from the various vantage points.
Ischia Ponte, Campania, 80077, Italy081-992834Sight Details
Rate Includes: €12 -
4. Giardini di Augusto
From the terraces of this beautiful public garden, you can see the village of Marina Piccola below—restaurants, cabanas, and swimming platforms huddle among the shoals—and...
From the terraces of this beautiful public garden, you can see the village of Marina Piccola below—restaurants, cabanas, and swimming platforms huddle among the shoals—and admire the steep, winding Via Krupp, actually a staircase cut into the rock. Friedrich Krupp, the German arms manufacturer, loved Capri and became one of the island's most generous benefactors. Sadly, the path down to Marina Piccola is closed indefinitely due to the danger of rockfalls.
Via Matteotti, Capri, Campania, 80073, ItalySight Details
Rate Includes: €1 -
5. I Faraglioni
Few landscapes set more artists dreaming than that of the famous Faraglioni—three enigmatic, pale-ocher limestone colossi that loom out of the sea just off the...
Few landscapes set more artists dreaming than that of the famous Faraglioni—three enigmatic, pale-ocher limestone colossi that loom out of the sea just off the Punta Tragara on the southern coast of Capri. Soaring almost 350 feet above the water, the Faraglioni have become for most Italians a beloved symbol of Capri and have been poetically compared to Gothic cathedrals or modern skyscrapers. The first rock is called Faraglione di Terra, since it's attached to the land; at its base is the famous restaurant and bathing lido Da Luigi, where a beach mattress may accompany the luncheon menu. The second is called Faraglione di Mezzo, or Stella, and little boats can often be seen going through its picturesque tunnel, which was caused by sea erosion. The rock farthest out to sea is Faraglione di Scopolo and is inhabited by a wall lizard species with a striking blue belly, considered a local variant by biologists although legend has it that they were originally brought as pets from Greece to delight ancient Roman courtiers.
Capri, Campania, 80073, Italy -
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6. La Mortella
Two kilometers (1 mile) north of Forio is one of the most famous gardens in Mediterranean Italy, La Mortella. The garden was a labor of...
Two kilometers (1 mile) north of Forio is one of the most famous gardens in Mediterranean Italy, La Mortella. The garden was a labor of love designed in 1956 by the landscape architect Russell Page for Sir William Walton and his Argentine-born wife, Susana. The garden was created within a wide, bowl-shape, rocky valley, originally not much more than a quarry, overlooking the Bay of San Francesco and with spreading views toward Monte Epomeo and Forio. Lady Walton, who passed away in 2010, was a talented gardener in her own right, and first planted the trees of her childhood here (jacaranda, silk trees, erythrina, brugmansia) and then added tree ferns, palm trees, cycads, and rare bromeliads. Native wild plants were encouraged in the upper reaches of the gardens, with dainty vetches and orchids as well as myrtle, from which the garden got its name, La Mortella. Considering the volcanic valley out of which the gardens were sculpted, they are appropriately threaded with pathways of rocks hewn from Vesuvius. In homage to the hot springs of the island, the centerpiece is an elliptical pond with three small islands adorned with the immense boulders that once littered the grounds. Below, underground cisterns were excavated to catch natural drinking water. Besides some soothing strolls among the well-labeled flower beds and landscaped rock gardens, try to spend some time in the museum dedicated to the life and works of the late English composer, William Walton. The gardens have excellent facilities, with a shop selling Sir William's music, a tea house for light refreshments, and a theater that hosts a concert series on most weekends; book well in advance for these tickets.
Via Francesco Calise 39, Forio, Campania, 80075, Italy081-986220Sight Details
Rate Includes: €12; €20 for concert, includes visit to garden, Closed Mon., Wed., and Fri.; Nov.–Easter -
7. Marina Corricella
Perched under the citadel of the Terra Murata, the Marina Corricella is Procida's most memorable sight. Singled out for the waterfront scenes in Il Postino...
Perched under the citadel of the Terra Murata, the Marina Corricella is Procida's most memorable sight. Singled out for the waterfront scenes in Il Postino (The Postman, the 1995 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film), this fishermen's cove is one of the most eye-popping villages in Campania—a rainbow-hued, horizontal version of Positano, comprising hundreds of traditional Mediterranean-style stone houses threaded by numerous scalatinelle (staircase streets).
Procida, Campania, Italy -
8. Marina Piccola
A 10-minute ride from the main bus terminus in Capri (Piazzetta d'Ungheria), Marina Piccola is a delightfully picturesque inlet that provides the Capresi and other...
A 10-minute ride from the main bus terminus in Capri (Piazzetta d'Ungheria), Marina Piccola is a delightfully picturesque inlet that provides the Capresi and other sun worshippers with their best access to reasonable beaches and safe swimming. The entire cove is lined with stabilimenti—elegant bathing lidos where the striped cabanas are often air-conditioned and the bodies can be Modigliani-sleek. The most famous of these lidos (there's a fee to use the facilities), found closest to the Faraglioni, is La Canzone del Mare, once presided over by the noted British music-hall singer Gracie Fields and for decades favored by the smart set, including Noël Coward and Emilio Pucci (who set up his first boutique here). La Canzone del Mare's seaside restaurant offers a dreamy view of the Faraglioni and a luncheon here, although pricey, can serve as an indelible Capri moment. Jutting out into the bay at the center of the marina is the Scoglio delle Sirene, or Sirens' Rock—a small natural promontory—which the ancients believed to be the haunt of the Sirens, the mythical temptresses whose song seduced Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. This rock separates the two small beaches: Pennaulo, to the east, and Marina di Mulo, site of the original Roman harbor, to the west. The small church, Chiesa di Sant'Andrea, was built in 1900 to give the local fishermen a place of worship.
Via Marina Piccola, Capri, Campania, 80073, Italy -
9. Monte Solaro
An impressive limestone formation and the highest point on Capri (1,932 feet), Monte Solaro affords gasp-inducing views toward the bays of both Naples and Salerno....
An impressive limestone formation and the highest point on Capri (1,932 feet), Monte Solaro affords gasp-inducing views toward the bays of both Naples and Salerno. A serene 13-minute chairlift ride will take you right to the top (refreshments available at the bar), where you can launch out on a number of scenic trails on the western side of the island. Picnickers should note that even in summer it can get windy at this height, and there are few trees to provide shade or refuge.
Piazza Vittoria, Anacapri, Campania, 80071, Italy081-8371428Sight Details
Rate Includes: €9 one-way, €12 return, Closed chairlift in adverse weather -
10. Museo Archeologico di Pithecusae
Lacco Ameno's archaeological importance—it rests below the first Greek settlement on Italian soil on the island, at Monte Vico—is amply reflected by the finds displayed...
Lacco Ameno's archaeological importance—it rests below the first Greek settlement on Italian soil on the island, at Monte Vico—is amply reflected by the finds displayed in Ischia's top museum. The museum occupies much of the Villa Arbusto, built by Carlo d'Aquaviva in 1785 on top of a Bronze Age settlement. Inaugurated in 1999, with the directors of both the British Museum and the Louvre in attendance, its eight rooms house a wide range of Greek pottery unearthed at the ancient necropolis site near the Baia di San Montano, much of it dating to the earliest years of the Greek colony (late 8th century BC), including Nestor's Cup, the oldest known kotyle vase in existence. There is also a room dedicated to internationally renowned filmmaker Angelo Rizzoli, who once lived in the villa, as well as a section devoted to dolphins. Villa Arbusto combines musical serate, or evening soirées, in summer months with visits to the antiquities museum.
Corso Angelo Rizzoli 210, Lacco Ameno, Campania, 80075, Italy081-996103Sight Details
Rate Includes: €5, gardens free, Closed Mon. -
11. Sant'Angelo
On the southern coast, this is a charming village with a narrow path leading to its promontory; the road doesn't reach all the way into...
On the southern coast, this is a charming village with a narrow path leading to its promontory; the road doesn't reach all the way into town, so it's free of traffic. It's a five-minute boat ride from the beach of Maronti, at the foot of cliffs.
Sant'Angelo, Campania, Italy -
12. Santa Maria a Cetrella
Scenically perched on the slopes of Monte Solaro, this small sanctuary in late-Gothic style—with its older parts dating to the late 14th century—offers a truly...
Scenically perched on the slopes of Monte Solaro, this small sanctuary in late-Gothic style—with its older parts dating to the late 14th century—offers a truly picturesque frame for a panorama that takes in much of the island. It also marks the top of the second access route (Il Passetiello) used in ancient times, which linked Capri Town with Anacapri. Steep, slippery, and in spots still dangerous, this is the pathway that the Carthusian monks of San Giacomo would have used to reach their properties in the upper part of the island. Congregants were mainly fisherfolk whose boats were moored in the Marina Piccola directly below; they also used this clifftop aerie as a lookout against Saracen pirates. The church was substantially rebuilt by Franciscan monks in the early 17th century, when a sacristy was added. To reach Santa Maria, you can climb a path leading off Viale Axel Munthe (an hour-long walk); an alternative is to descend a path leading from the Monte Solaro chairlift for 20 minutes. The church is usually open on Saturday (10–3), but check at the chairlift. Mass is celebrated at dawn every Sunday in September, but the site remains unforgettable year-round.
Anacapri, Campania, 80071, Italy -
13. Santuario del Soccorso
The 14th-century Santa Maria della Neve, better known as the Santuario del Soccorso, is the island's most picturesque church. Down at the harbor, the whitewashed...
The 14th-century Santa Maria della Neve, better known as the Santuario del Soccorso, is the island's most picturesque church. Down at the harbor, the whitewashed church makes a good spot for a sunset stroll. Check out the wooden crucifix in the chapel on the left; it was washed up on the shore below the church in the 15th century. Restored in 2013, this is the oldest statue on the island. For an overview of the town go to the Torrione, one of 12 towers built under Aragonese rule in the 15th century to protect Forio's inhabitants from the ever-present threat of pirate raids.
Via Soccorso, Forio, Campania, 80075, Italy -
14. Villa Jovis
Named in honor of the ancient Roman god Jupiter, or Jove, the villa of the emperor Tiberius is riveted to the towering Rocca di Capri...
Named in honor of the ancient Roman god Jupiter, or Jove, the villa of the emperor Tiberius is riveted to the towering Rocca di Capri like an eagle's nest overlooking the strait separating Capri from Punta Campanella, the tip of the Sorrentine Peninsula. Lying near the easternmost point of the island, Villa Jovis is a powerful reminder of the importance of the island in Roman times. What makes the site even more compelling are the accounts of the latter years of Tiberius's reign from Capri (AD 27–37), written by authors and near-contemporaries Suetonius and Tacitus. This villa was famous for its sybaritic living, thus sounding a leitmotif whose echo can be heard at the luxurious hotels of today. There are remarkably few discrepancies between the accounts of the two historiographers. Both point to Tiberius's mounting paranoia in Rome, while Tacitus outlines his reason for choosing Capri (Annals, Book IV): "Presumably what attracted him was the isolation of Capreae. Harborless, it has few roadsteads even for small vessels; sentries can control all landings. In winter the climate is mild, since hills on the mainland keep off gales. In summer the island is delightful, since it faces west and has open sea all round. The bay it overlooks was exceptionally lovely, until Vesuvius's eruption transformed the landscape." Capri in Roman times was the site of 12 spacious villas, but Villa Jovis is both the best preserved and must have been the largest, occupying nearly 23,000 square feet. The entrance to the site lies just beyond the pharos (lighthouse) built under Tiberius and used until the 17th century to warn ships away from the narrows between Capri and the mainland. Pick up a site map at the ticket office, which gives a useful breakdown of the various areas of the villa to be visited. Nearby, you can find Salto di Tiberio (Tiberius's Leap), the place where ancient gossips believed Tiberius had enemies—among them his discarded lovers and even unfortunate cooks—hurled over the precipice into the sea some 1,000 feet below. After taking stock of this now-harmless viewing platform and its information panels, take the upper path past the baths complex around the palace residential quarters to view the heavily restored Chapel of Santa Maria del Soccorso and its large bronze statue of the Madonna, a gift to the island from the Caprese painter Guido Odierna in 1979. The walk around the perimeter of the site gives an idea of the overall layout of the palatial residence, which in places rose to five stories in height. From here descend some steps and then a ramp to the ambulatio (walkway), which offers additional spectacular views and plenty of shade, as well as a triclinium (dining room) halfway along. The center of the site is a complex devoted to cisterns. Unlike in Pompeii, there was no aqueduct up here to provide fresh running water, so the cisterns next to the bath complex were of prime importance. From La Piazzetta allow 45 minutes each way for the walk alone.
Via A. Maiuri, 80073, Italy081-8374549Sight Details
Rate Includes: €6, with audio guide, Closed Jan. and Feb. and Tues. Oct.–Mar. -
15. Villa Lysis
Opened to the public in 2003, this legendary villa was originally known as the Villa Fersen, after Baron Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen, the builder. Fleeing to the...
Opened to the public in 2003, this legendary villa was originally known as the Villa Fersen, after Baron Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen, the builder. Fleeing to the island from a scandal involving Parisian schoolboys, the French aristocrat had this white stucco pile designed by Edouard Chimot in 1903 in shimmering Belle Époque style, replete with gilded-mosaic columns and floors looted from the island's ancient Roman sites. Past the impressive columned entrance, inscribed in stone with "Amori et Dolori Sacrum" (A Shrine to Love and Sorrow), the baron would retire to write poems and paint pictures in his Stile Liberty ("Liberty Style," or Art Nouveau) salons. Sadly all the furnishings are gone, but you can still gasp at the ballroom open to the sea and the large smoking room in the basement, where, in a tiled pool, Fersen committed suicide by ingesting a lethal mix of opium and Champagne in 1923. Outside are magical terraces with views to rival the adjacent Villa Jovis.
Via Lo Capo 33, Capri, Campania, 80073, Italy081-8386111-for Capri municipal officeSight Details
Rate Includes: €2, Closed Wed. and Nov.--Feb. -
16. Villa San Michele
From Anacapri's Piazza Vittoria, picturesque Via Capodimonte leads to Villa San Michele, the charming former home of Swedish doctor and philanthropist Axel Munthe (1857–1949), and...
From Anacapri's Piazza Vittoria, picturesque Via Capodimonte leads to Villa San Michele, the charming former home of Swedish doctor and philanthropist Axel Munthe (1857–1949), and which Henry James called "the most fantastic beauty, poetry, and inutility that one had ever seen clustered together." At the ancient entranceway to Anacapri at the top of the Scala Fenicia, the villa is set around Roman-style courtyards, marble walkways, and atria. Rooms display the doctor's varied collections, which range from bric-a-brac to antiquities. Medieval choir stalls, Renaissance lecterns, and gilded statues of saints are all part of the setting, with some rooms preserving the doctor's personal memorabilia. A spectacular pergola path overlooking the entire Bay of Naples leads from the villa to the famous Sphinx Parapet, where an ancient Egyptian sphinx looks out toward Sorrento: you cannot see its face—on purpose. It is said that if you touch the sphinx's hindquarters with your left hand while making a wish, it will come true. The parapet is connected to the little Chapel of San Michele, on the grounds of one of Tiberius's villas. Besides hosting summer concerts, the Axel Munthe Foundation carries out ornithological research in the surrounding area and has an ecomuseum that fittingly reflects Munthe's fondness for animals. Here you can learn about various bird species—accompanied by their songs—found on Capri. Munthe bought up the hillside and made it a sanctuary for birds, and today this little realm is still an Eden. The foundation also organizes weekly guided visits (Thursday afternoon April–October, call to reserve a place) of the ruined Barbarossa castle, almost clinging to the side of the cliff above Villa San Michele. Dating to the late 10th century, when Capri was ruled by the ancient maritime republic of Amalfi, and named after the admiral of the Turkish fleet, Khair-Eddin, or Barbarossa (Redbeard), who stormed and took the castle in 1535, much of the original layout has been changed over the centuries.
Viale Axel Munthe 34, Anacapri, Campania, 80071, Italy081-8371401Sight Details
Rate Includes: €10 -
17. Abbazia di San Michele
Within Terra Murata is the Abbazia di San Michele. San Michele (St. Michael) is the island's patron saint and a key figure in its history...
Within Terra Murata is the Abbazia di San Michele. San Michele (St. Michael) is the island's patron saint and a key figure in its history and traditions. Legend has it that in 1535, when the sultan of Algeria's admiral laid siege to the island, San Michele appeared above the pirate force and put them to flight (the 17th-century painting depicting the scene is in the choir of the abbey's 17th-century church; one of the invaders' anchors can also be viewed). On the wall close to the church's richly coffered ceiling is another depiction of San Michele, attributed to the Tuscan Luigi Garzi (1699). As you walk around the church, note that the floor's marble flagstones have holes, which were, in effect, trapdoors through which bodies could be lowered to the underground crypt. The maze of catacombs (closed indefinitely) lead to a secret chapel. Mass is held every Sunday at 9:30 am, and the cultural association Millennium offers free guided tours by request.
Terra Murata, Procida, Campania, 80079, Italy081-8967612Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed Mon., Sun. afternoon; Nov.–mid-Apr. -
18. Aenaria
In 1972 local divers found two heavy lead ingots in the Bay of Cartaromana, just across from the castle, leading to the discovery of Aenaria,...
In 1972 local divers found two heavy lead ingots in the Bay of Cartaromana, just across from the castle, leading to the discovery of Aenaria, a metal-working Roman settlement destroyed in a volcanic eruption around 150 AD (aenum is the Latin for metal), and referred to in records by Pliny the Elder. Ongoing excavations began in 2011, and Il Borgo del Mare organises a tour in a glass-bottom boat.
Via Luigi Mazzella 68, Ischia Ponte, Campania, 80077, Italy081-2304911Sight Details
Rate Includes: €30 -
19. Arco Naturale
One of Capri's most famous natural wonders, this geologic arch framing Punto Massullo is all that remains of a large limestone cave that has suffered...
One of Capri's most famous natural wonders, this geologic arch framing Punto Massullo is all that remains of a large limestone cave that has suffered the erosive effects of wind and rain over the millennia. Once a cave that was likely hollowed out by wave action, it broke apart when lifted up to its present position, hundreds of feet above sea level, in relatively recent geological times (about 1–2 million years ago).
Capri, Campania, 80073, Italy -
20. Bagni di Tiberio
The free beach at Marina Grande, under the J.K. Place hotel, is usually crowded, so social go-getters prefer the historic Bagni di Tiberio beach to...
The free beach at Marina Grande, under the J.K. Place hotel, is usually crowded, so social go-getters prefer the historic Bagni di Tiberio beach to the east. Here you can swim around the ruins of Tiberius's Palazzo a Mare and dine at the family-run beach club. Entrance, including boat from Marina Grande, is €14, a sun bed is €12, and an umbrella is €7. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.
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