Finally arriving at the Marina Grande located on the north side of the island, I was immediately struck by the surrounding steep cliffs. I felt so tiny. Then I wondered where is the town? As I found out, this area was simply a marina. After asking a friendly local in my less than perfect Italian, I was instructed to take a funicular to the town of Capri.
To give you a taste of the long and storied history of Capri, I have picked out a few tidbits…
~Modern excavations have shown that human presence on the island can be dated back to the Neolithic and the Bronze Ages.
~In 27 AD, Emperor Tiberius built the Villa Jovis, considered one of the best preserved Roman villas in Italy. Tiberius permanently moved to Capri, running the Roman Empire from there until his death in 37 AD.
~After the end of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, Capri returned to the status of a dominion of Naples, and suffered various attacks and ravages by pirates.
~In 866 AD, Emperor Louis II gave the island to the town of Amalfi.
~In 1496 AD, Frederick established legal and administrative equality the two settlements of Capri and Anacapri in 1496 AD.
~In 1806, the French and then the British troops occupied the island for control. Capri was turned into a powerful naval base nicknamed the “Second Gibraltar.”
~In the latter half of the 19th century, Capri became a popular resort for European artists, writers and other celebrities. This trend continues today.
Ok, now back to my adventure…the funicular. If you never saw or rode in one before, you should. After purchasing a ticket for € 1, 30, I stepped inside the station and boarded a small tram (funicular) full of windows. Moving was a strange sensation. You are seated with your backside to the mountain and travel upwards and backwards at the same time. You are able to see breathtaking views as you travel towards the top. The entire ride took only 3 minutes. Good for the locals who use it as daily transportation, bad for those of us “tourists” that tried snapping a bazillion pictures on the way up. Did I mention how spectacular the views were?
Upon my arrival to the actual town of Capri, I could now see all the restaurants and shopping I saw advertised in the brochures. It was like being in the center of everything and still being able to walk to your 5 star hotel. Notice I didn't say my 5 star hotel. The best part of the town was the lack of vehicle traffic. Capri (town) is perched upon a cliff overlooking the water. There is only so much room to build and when the structures were originally built, modern vehicles didn’t exist. The streets are narrow, twisty and steep, very few could have accommodated even the smallest vehicle. I can’t imagine being a DHL or UPS delivery driver there.
After walking around town, I decided it was time to actually visit some of the more historical sights on my list. I purchased a ticket for the local bus. As I have mentioned before, Italy is a land of chaotic, schizophrenic driving peppered with near misses. The ride across the island and then back down to the marina was by far the most exciting and scary any kind of ride I have ever experienced. As you leave Capri and head west towards Anacapri, the island continues in its' mountainous and hair pin nature. Being the consummate photographer, I had to sit at the front of the bus next to the driver to have the best, unobstructed view of all things that I might need a photo of. Little did I know that I was going to be tossed about and needed both hands just to hang on. The roadway, similar to all roads in Europe was tight. One car fits comfortably, two; someone has to pull into a driveway to pass. As I mentioned before, I was on the bus! Granted it was smaller than those stateside but it was still a huge vehicle in comparison to anything else on the road. Evidently, the rule of thumb was the largest vehicle always had the right of way. If another oncoming vehicle dared tried to pass, our driver would stop, honk, shout out the window and make the other driver back up into a driveway so that we could pass. The shouting only occurred if the other driver forgot about the "rule." By the way, this all occurred on roadways without shoulders and low guardrails. Good God, don’t look out the side window if your afraid of heights.
Finally reaching Anacapri, I thanked our driver and began to explore the town. If Capri is a metropolitan city, Anacapri is like a small town that time forgot. After the frenetic pace of Capri with all the restaurants, shops and luxury hotels, Anacapri was like a breath of fresh air. The narrow, steep and twisty streets continued but instead of tourists clogging the streets, local townspeople hung laundry on the line and gardened. Noisy kids played in the square and people scrubbed their front windows and steps. There were few shops by comparison and small trattorias for coffee. As I strolled around the town, I noticed that all houses had several things in common. Everyone’s house had lovely flowers; yes I was very jealous, painted ceramic tiles on their steps and/or around their doorways and wrought iron detailing on their homes. The flowers on the island were a botanists dream. I wanted to move there immediately.
In my travels, I found a chairlift that connected the center of Anacapri with the peak of Mount Solaro, the highest point on the island at 1933 feet above sea level. It was just like it sounds where you sit on a chair with your feet dangling and a small bar to hold you in. The side of the mountain is only about 30 feet below you at all times. You travel above houses, backyards, people, etc. The experience was fun but I had this fear that my shoes were going to fall off and knock out some poor old grandma working on her garden. Other than worrying about that, I spent a majority of the time snapping pictures. It was hard to believe but the view was even better than on the funicular. On the chairlift, you had a full 360° view.
When I arrived at the top, I could see both sides of the island at the same time. I also spotted in the distance, the “Faraglioni Rocks.” Legend has it that when Odysseus made the journey home to Ithaca, Circe warned him of the dangers of the singing creatures (Sirens) that lured men to their death on the rocks around their island. In order to have safe passage, he should have his men plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast to keep him from escaping. Odysseus had his men do so. As they passed the island, the three Sirens began to sing beautifully, promising him wisdom and knowledge of past and future. Enchanted by their song, he struggled and tried to break free, but two of his men bound him even more tightly until they passed beyond the island. In Greek mythology, the “Sirenum scopuli” were three small rocky islands where the Sirens lived and lured sailors to their deaths. According to Homer, those rocks are what is now known as the “Faraglioni Rocks.”
View from Mt. Solaro, starting from the left/land side, Stella (Star) is the first rock, the second, separated by water is Faraglione di Mezzo (middle) and the third, Faraglione di Fuori (outside). Small blue lizards matching the sea live on top where the elevation is about 328 feet.
Next up, a visit with my friend Tiberius at the Villa Jovis...
