Anacapri skyline
The ancient Romans had an eye for beautiful places. Octavio Augusto already noticed Capri and he took care to build here a imperial villa to which to return to contemplate the tyrrhenian sea for 40 years. His successor, Tiberius, did the same with Villa Jovis , whose ruins are among the best preserved in Italy in terms of palaces. This is how vacations were invented , a word that still sounds like magic 2,000 years later, especially if it takes place here.
In the 19th century, European travelers began to talk about Capri as if it had been discovered to the world, and in the 1950s it reached the myth category by becoming a stopover for the international jet set, who fell in love with this concentration of impossible cliffs, towns that seem to be tightrope walkers over the sea, medieval, Renaissance, Baroque churches... always halfway between the chipping of the centuries and the most overwhelming elegance Like almost everything in Italy.
As typical as it sounds, its sunsets are still the best ally for a romantic attack, especially if there are two glasses of Negroni on the table
A sunset in Capri, the best in this world
A RESTAURANT Paolino (Via Palazzo a Mare, 11). Rustic can be exquisite . This is the case of this restaurant, literally immersed in a lemon orchard, near the Marina Grande and yet away from the hustle and bustle, whose address has been well noted by celebrities from all over the world since its opening in 1978.
The cuisine is traditional, simple and well prepared Pairing: tomato and basil on pasta, fresh seafood and fish, and grilled meats. Also they organize picnics on the sea aboard the family boat r, which can be hired to go around the island.
The rustic can be (and is) exquisite
A WALK
The chairlift that goes up to Monte Solaro from Anacapri (the station is on Via Caposcuro) offers a 15-minute ascent flying over gardens and orchards, rewarded on reaching the top with views of the entire island, the Bay of Naples and the Amalfi Coast to the mountains of Calabria . Buy only the one way ticket and walk back down to Anacapri (about an hour). Along the way, stop at the hermitage of Santa Maria de Cetrella, built in the 16th century on some cliffs above the little port of Marina Piccola.
Chairlift that goes up to Monte Solaro
AN EXPERIENCE
The size and topography of Capri make it a very suitable place to rent a motorcycle in spring and summer. Parking will not be a problem in any corner no matter how inaccessible it may seem, the famous slopes will not be a dramatic experience in the heat, and the fact of not depending on the schedules of transport services will guarantee a full freedom. All this, in addition to the priceless feeling of travel the roads of an island where it is impossible to reach a bad port . Capri-Rent a Scooter is one of the many companies that rent these vehicles; They offer facilities to pick up and deliver the motorcycle at different points on the island and information on routes and places of interest to visit 'Italian style'.
There is no bad port in Capri
A HOTEL
A location in front of Fariglioni, a few islets chisel-cut by the sea, and Le Corbusier's stamp on his architecture have made the Hotel Punta Tragara (Via Tragara, 57) a Capri classic. Before opening as a hotel in 1972, this apricot colored villa It served as the headquarters for a US Air Force squadron during World War II and hosted Eisenhower and Churchill during their stays on the island. Le Corbusier's claim that forms “emerge from the rock and create a refuge to comfort the mind, body and heart” was widely fulfilled in this spectacular project.
Its 44 rooms, all different, are conceived as open windows to the landscape , and bear the mark of the straight lines and the immense glass rectangles typical of their author. The Italian architect Livio Talmona was in charge of the design of the Unique Spa, with four treatment rooms, relaxation area and a gym on the sea. The bar the pergola , next to the pool, is ideal for a pre-dinner cocktail in its restaurant, Monzu , assortment of genuinely Mediterranean dishes.
Hotel Punta Tragara, apricot color with views of the islets of Fariglioni