area 10·5 km²/4 sq mi. Island in Napoli province, Campania, Italy, in the Tyrrhenian Sea; length 6 km/4 mi; maximum width 2·5 km/1·5 mi; rugged limestone crags rise to 589 m/1932 ft; capital, Capri; Blue Grotto on N coast; major tourist centre; home of Emperor Tiberius.
| Comune di Capri | |
|---|---|
|
Municipal coat of arms |
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| Country | Italy |
| Region | Campania |
| Province | Naples (NA) |
| Mayor | Ciro Lembo |
| Elevation | m |
| Area | 3 km² |
| Population | |
| - Total (as of December 31, 2004) | 7,278 |
| - Density | 2,353/km² |
| Time zone | CET, UTC+1 |
| Coordinates | 40°33′N 14°15′E |
| Gentilic | Capresi |
| Dialing code | 081 |
| Postal code | 80073 |
| Patron | St. Constantius of Aquino |
| - Day | May 14 |
| Website: www.cittadicapri.it | |
Capri (Italian pronunciation Cápri, usual English pronunciation Caprí) is an Italian island off the Sorrentine Peninsula.
Capri is in the region of Campania, Province of Naples.
The separate commune of Anacapri is located high on the hills west from the city of Capri.
History
Ancient and Roman times
According to the Greek geographer Strabo, Capri was once part of the mainland.
Augustus's successor Tiberius also built a series of villas at Capri, the most famous of which is the Villa Jovis, one of the best preserved Roman villas in Italy.
In 182, Emperor Commodus banished his sister Lucilla to Capri.
Middle and Modern Ages
After the end of the Western Roman Empire, Capri returned to the status of a dominion of Naples, and suffered various attacks and ravages by pirates.
In 1496, Frederick IV of Naples established legal and administrative parity between the two settlements of Capri and Anacapri. Joachim Murat reconquered Capri in 1808, and the French remained there until the end of the Napoleonic era (1815), when Capri was returned to the Bourbon ruling house of Naples.
In the 2nd half of the 19th century, Capri became a popular resort for European artists, writers and other celebrities. This work was continued by his son, the author and engineer Edwin Cerio, who wrote several books on life in Capri in the twentieth century. Gracie Fields also had a villa on the Island and sang two songs, "The Isle of Capri" and "Come Back to Sorrento" about Capri. When she died on the island in 1978, she left her villa to female impersonator Danny La Rue, who reportedly spends most of the year in Capri when he isn't in a production.
Capri in literature
The book that spawned the 19th century fascination with Capri in France, Germany, and England was Entdeckung der Blauen Grotte auf der Insel Capri by the German painter and writer August Kopisch, in which he describes his 1826 stay on Capri and his (re)discovery of the Blue Grotto.
Capri is also the setting for "The Lotus Eater", a short-story by Somerset Maugham. In the story, the protagonist from Boston comes to Capri on a holiday and is so enchanted by the place he gives up his job and decides to spend the rest of his life in leisure at Capri.
Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen wrote the roman à clef Et le feu s’èteignit sur le mer (1910) about Capri and its residents in the early 20th century, causing a minor scandal. Douglas, Fersen, the 19th century poet August Graf von Platen, and other writers were attracted to Capri by the opportunity to carry out their homosexual life-styles.
Edwin Cerio's book Aria di Capri (1928) (later translated as That Capri Air) contains a number of historical and biographical essays on the island, including a tribute to Norman Douglas.
Shirley Hazzard wrote the memoir Graham on Capri: A Memoir (2000) about her reminiscences of Graham Greene and Capri. Greene was also a friend of Norman Douglas in the latter's last years, and edited (and perhaps extensively rewrote) the memoirs of Elisabeth Moor, who worked as a doctor on Capri from 1926 until the 1970s (An Impossible Woman: The Memoirs of Dottoressa Moor (1975)).
Main sights
Villa San Michele Grotta Azzurra, the Blue Grotto Villa Lysis Villa Jovis La Piazzetta Via Krupp Arco Naturale Villa Malaparte Torre Materita Certosa di San Giacomo Faraglioni Monte Solaro Punta CarenaTourism
Capri is a tourist destination for both Italians and foreigners.
Transportation
Capri is served by frequent ferry and hydrofoil service to Naples and Sorrento, as well as many other boat services to the ports of the Gulf of Naples and the Sorrentine Peninsula.
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