Islands Around
Capri has two main towns, and a mountain stands between them.
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Monte Solaro, at almost 600 metres, is the island’s highest point. Its steep slopes form a natural wall between the east side, where Capri town sits, and the high western plateau, where Anacapri and the Blue Grotto are found.
The name Anacapri comes from Greek and means roughly “above Capri”. For centuries, the only route up from the port was a stone staircase of 921 steps, known as the Phoenician Steps.
Despite the name, researchers think Greek settlers built it in ancient times. Anacapri had no port and few water sources, so its people relied on Capri, and the two towns were rivals for a long time. A carriage road finally opened in the 1870s.
Today the summit is much easier to reach. A chairlift runs from Piazza Vittoria in Anacapri and takes just over ten minutes. It opened in 1952 and was rebuilt in the late 1990s. Each chair carries one person, and the lift moves at a slow, steady pace.
On the way up, it passes over small vegetable gardens and terraced vineyards. Until quite recently, Anacapri lived mainly from farming rather than tourism.
From the top, the view takes in the whole island and the Bay of Naples. On very clear days, you can also see the Amalfi Coast and the Gulf of Salerno.
Near the summit are the remains of a small fort, the Fortino di Bruto, which was used in the fighting between Britain and France during the Napoleonic Wars. Walkers can also climb to the top in about an hour, or come down past the small church of Cetrella, which sits on the rocks near the summit.
Below the summit, the Phoenician Steps still end at Villa San Michele, and builders once carried much of its building material up them by hand and by donkey.
