The Emperor's island — Tiberius's Villa Jovis over a 120m cliff, the Blue Grotto, limoncello terraces, and the world's most photographed tiny piazzetta
Capri is a 10 km² limestone island in the Bay of Naples (40 minutes by hydrofoil from Naples), formed by a submerged limestone ridge that rises in white cliffs and sea stacks — the Faraglioni, three monolithic rock stacks rising 100 metres from the sea off the southern coast, are the island's defining image. The island divides into the town of Capri (the commercial centre with its famous Piazzetta, the tiny main square that functions as the island's social stage) and Anacapri (higher up, connected by chair lift to Monte Solaro at 589m). The island's history is Roman imperial — Tiberius ruled…
Capri was a Greek settlement before becoming the personal property of Augustus (who acquired it from Naples, preferring it as a retreat). Tiberius built 12 villas on the island's headlands; Villa Jovis was his primary residence for the final 11 years of his reign. The Blue Grotto was 'rediscovered' in 1826 by German painter August Kopisch; the resulting publicity established Capri as an international artistic destination, a tradition continued through the 20th century by Graham Greene, Pablo Neruda, and Axel Munthe.