Basic information about Capri

Where is Capri located?

The small island of Capri is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea. It belongs to the Italian province of Naples, in the region of Campania. The resort is situated 10 km southwest of the Sorrentine Peninsula and 36 km from Naples, with ferry connections between them.

The island covers an area of approximately 11 square kilometers, and its population is around 13,000 people. However, during the tourist season, the number of visitors can reach half a million. Therefore, Capri can confidently be called a popular resort destination. Its history as a resort dates back to ancient times when Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius had their residences here during the Roman Republic.

The History of Capri Island

Mentions of the Italian island can be found in the myths of Ancient Greece. Firstly, there are various interpretations of the origin of the name Capri: some believe that the island was named after a wild boar, as the word sounds similar to the ancient Greek word for boar, "kapros." Alternatively, the modern name of the resort was derived much later from the Latin word "caprea," meaning goat, in honor of the goat Amalthea, who was the nursemaid of the thunder god Zeus.

Capri is also mentioned in Homer's works. For example, Odysseus encountered famous sirens on the island. To avoid falling into the traps of these cunning creatures, the resourceful hero plugged the ears of his crew with wax and tied himself to the mast. This way, the sailors passed by the sirens alive, and out of despair, the creatures threw themselves into the sea and turned into rocks.

The second myth states that on the island of Capri, Odysseus fought against the Cyclops Polyphemus. Subsequently, modern researchers have found a cave where this significant confrontation could have taken place. In the Marina Piccola harbor, the remains of the island's first settlers were also discovered.

As far as historically proven facts are concerned, the city was founded by the Phoenicians. It was then inhabited by the Greeks and later belonged to Naples. But as early as 29 BC, the Roman emperor Octavian Augustus traded his favourite Capri for the island of Ischia. His heir, Tiberius, made a residence for himself on the island and built 12 forks at once for fear of conspiracy - none of his subjects knew where the ruler would spend the night on any given day.

The island later belonged to the Lombards, the Normans, the Turks, the French, the English and finally the Italians.

As for contemporary history, the island is often associated with the names of famous cultural figures: writers, artists, musicians and composers. Bunin, Turgenev, Maxim Gorky, Paustovsky, Stanislavsky, Tchaikovsky, Mann, Rilke, Dumas, Wilde, Churchill all lived here. Wagner wrote his opera 'Tristan and Isolde' here, Aivazovsky dedicated a series of seascapes to the island. The conclusion to be drawn is that Capri is definitely home to the muses of creativity that inspire the creation of new masterpieces.