History of Capri

Capri ( KAH-pree, also kə-PREE, KAP-ree; Italian: [ˈkaːpri]) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, it is known for its natural beauty, historic sites, and tourism industry. The island is characterized by its rugged limestone landscape, sea stacks (Faraglioni), coastal grottoes including the renowned Blue Grotto, and high cliffs overlooking the sea. Notable features include the harbours of Marina Grande and Marina Piccola, the panoramic Belvedere of Tragara, the ruins of Roman imperial villas such as Villa Jovis, and the towns of Capri and Anacapri, the latter situated higher up the slopes of Monte Solaro, the island's highest point. Administratively, Capri is part of the Metropolitan City of Naples within the Campania region. The island is divided into two municipalities (comuni): Capri and Anacapri.

Cimitero acattolico di Capri is a non-Catholic cemetery on the island of Capri. Established in 1878 by Englishman George Hayward, it contains 204 graves from a total of 21 different nations. Most of the people buried in the cemetery though are of English nationality, German, Russian or American. Aside from Protestants, also buried in the cemetery are Jews, Orthodox Christians and some Catholics. Notable interments include French Baron Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen, Lucio Amelio, Günter Ammon, Gracie Fields, Norman Douglas and Jakob Johann von Uexküll. After the Second World War, the cemetery saw a period of great neglect, which ended in 1986 when the municipality of Capri ensured the preservation and restoration of the cemetery graves.

The Grotta delle Felci (Italian for "Fern Grotto") is a cave located on one of the oldest regions on the island of Capri, in Campania, Italy. The cave, overlooking the sea on the southern side of the island, is located about 200 metres above sea level. The cave is 370 square metres in volume, and has been extensively excavated since the 19th century. Excavations on the cave were first begun in 1882 by Ignazio Cerio. Some of the remains from these excavations are kept at the Centro Caprense: Ignazio Cerio Museum, and the Museum of Anthropology of the University of Naples. 549 archaeological findings and fossils have been found internally, many of which have been dated to the Neolithic period.

Ospedale Giuseppe Capilupi Capri is a hospital (Italian: Ospedale) on the Via Provinciale in Anacapri, Capri, located just to the west of the comune center and about half a kilometre north of the Marina Piccola. It's the hospital of the island.

The Chiesa di San Costanzo (Church of Constantius) is a monumental church of Capri. Named after the patron saint of the island of Capri, San Costanzo, it was the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Capri from 987–1560.

Chiesa di Sant'Andrea is a church in the island of Capri, Italy, near the Marina Piccola in the south. It was built in 1900 for the local fishermen. The site which the church lies on formerly contained a watch tower which was used as a lookout post for invading Saracen pirates. The church was designed by the painter Riccardo Fainardi, and funded by German banker Hugo Andreae and his wife, Emma. Capri.net says of the interior, "The pronaos of the Church is supported by two columns. The central apse stands in the very same position once occupied by the old watchtower. The central altar is embellished by a triptych representing the crucifixion of Saint Andrew. In one of the lateral passes, there is an altar dedicated to the Madonna of Pompei and a spiral staircase leading up to the organ." Andreae together with the businessman Moritz von Bernus, also founded the German Evangelical Church on the island in the year 1899, Capri being a popular holiday destination for Germans and also having a sizeable German population.

Santa Maria a Cetrella is a Franciscan chapel and hermitage in Anacapri, Capri, Italy. Referred to as "Capri's most otherworldly church", it contains a Madonna statue which is venerated by pilgrims, including Rainer Maria Rilke. Built in the Middle Ages, its features include stucco siding, with a low-vaulted ceiling. It is located on Mount Solaro's Cetrella region. In the Middle Ages, Capriote residents prayed to Santa Maria a Cetrella to intercede on behalf of the island's fishermen.

Marina Piccola ("little harbor"; also Marina di Mulo) is located on the southern side of the island of Capri. It is near the Faraglioni sea stacks to the southeast. The Via Krupp is a historic switchback paved footpath that connects the Charterhouse of San Giacomo and the Gardens of Augustus area with Marina Piccola. The Marina Piccola, used by Augustus and Tiberius, preceded the Marina Grande.

The Phoenician Steps (La Scala Fenicia) of Capri is a long and steep stone stairway that unites the population center of Capri with that of Anacapri. The stairway was made probably by ancient Greek colonists, however, rather than by Phoenicians. Before the completion of a road, the Steps formed the only means of reaching Anacapri, which is located hundreds of feet above the Mediterranean Sea (the prefix ana- in the name of the place comes from classical Greek and signifies "above"). The upper terminal of the Phoenician Steps lies near the Villa San Michele, which Axel Munthe built at Anacapri.

Capri Bird Observatory is a bird observatory on the island of Capri in the Gulf of Naples, Italy. It was established in 1956, on land that had been donated to the Swedish state by physician and socialite Axel Munthe. Until 1983, Swedish researchers conducted bird ringing each spring at the bird observatory. Since 1986, the observatory has been used by both Italian and Swedish researchers.

Palazzo a Mare (Italian: [paˈlattso a mˈmaːre]; translation: "Sea Palace"; alternative, Palatium) is a well-preserved ancient Roman archaeological site on the north side of the island of Capri, consisting of an imperial palace built by Augustus and modified by Tiberius. It was one of the supposed twelve villas of Tiberius on the island as described by Tacitus, along with the Villa Jovis, Villa di Gradola and Villa Damecuta. It covers a very large area on several terraces overlooking the sea. The palace was equipped with a semicircular nymphaeum. The excavations were carried out by Amedeo Maiuri starting from 1932. In 1903, the Royal Geographical Society described it as: By far the most extensive Roman remains upon the Capri littoral are those known as the Palazzo a Mare, one of the largest of the twelve villas of Tiberius, and therefore dating from about 27 to 37 A.D. The buildings not only covered considerable ground on the top of the cliffs, which were buttressed by strong walls, but also extended down to the beach, where the north wing was thrown out towards the sea, and must have made a charming abode in summer. As seen from tho sea, a semioiroular exedra of opus reticulatum halfway up the face of the cliff is one of the most conspicuous features of the ruins. It is built so as to cover the middle third of the height of the cliff facing Vesuvius. Many fragments of walls lie in the water below, having been undermined by the sea; but as they have fallen from uncertain levels, they do not supply us with data as reliable as those to be derived from the western portions of the building still in situ.

Castello Barbarossa is an archaeological ruin and ornithological station in Anacapri, on the island of Capri, Italy. It is named after the former corsair and Ottoman Kapudan Pasha (Admiral) Hayreddin Barbarossa, who stormed it in 1535 and destroyed it in 1544. The construction date is uncertain but it perhaps dates back to the late ninth century. From 1898, the structure, now in ruins, was owned by the Swedish psychiatrist Axel Munthe who donated it to his foundation. The surroundings, interesting for their botanical features, are home to the island's ornithological station, Capri Bird Observatory.