IN
LOVE WITH CAPRI
by Leslie Gilbert Elman
If someone begins a conversation with the
words, “When Oscar Wilde was here…” you
take notice, or at least I do. That was only until I realized
that everywhere you turn on the island of Capri someone
mentions a gay literary icon. The names fall like drops
of Mediterranean seawater from a boatman’s oar: Wilde,
Ezra Pound, Tennessee Williams, Jean Cocteau, Andre Gide….
They came to stay at private villas and hotels. (Wilde
fled to the Grand Hotel Quisisana (http://www.quisi.com)
after his release from jail in England; it’s still
the poshest accommodation on the island.) And they came
to smell the sweetness of the lemon trees and to bask
in the Mediterranean sun, as I did.
Capri also boasts a 1960’s Jackie O. jet set pedigree,
when everyone who was anyone had a place in Capri or knew
someone who did. Yet the island can be blissfully quiet.
It’s always friendly, and locals will tell you it’s
one of the few places in Italy where people still sleep
peacefully with their doors unlocked.
Arriving from Naples via hydrofoil,
about a 40-minute trip, I landed in the town of Capri
in the section called Marina Grande. From there it’s
a short walk to the Piazza Umberto I, which is centrally
located and great for people-watching as well as all
the designer shopping in town.
The key to the isle of Capri is to stay there and make
it your own, avoiding the mini-bus-loads of cruise tourists
who flock in on a day’s outing from Naples. Pay
no attention to the crowds gathering at the Blue
Grotto. Yes, it’s stunning and the water is
a celestial blue you’d have thought was reserved
for heaven alone, but the wait to grab a rowboat in,
for the four-minute tour can take hours that would be
better spent relaxing on a terrace, watching the sea,
and sipping Limoncello, the local lemon liqueur.
You must, however, take a boat tour around the island.
There are many more grottos to see: the Green Grotto,
the White Grotto, Fisherman’s Grotto, and the one
called the Miraculous Grotto that houses a stalagmite
resembling the Madonna. Boat tour operators are clustered
in Marina Grande. Join a group tour or book a private
tour for half a day.
You should also get to know a few of the larger than
life personalities who made this lush little island
a haven for artists and eccentrics, since the time of
the Caesars. Take the highly peculiar Emperor Tiberius,
who “retired” to Capri in 27 A.D. when the
Roman senate didn’t quite know what to do with
him. After he became bored playing “screw your
neighbor” (literally) he’s said to have tossed
his conquests (slaves, soldiers, sheep) off the cliff
beside his home at Villa Jovis. The uphill walk
to reach the ruins of Villa Jovis meanders through residential
neighborhoods unlikely ever to change thanks to the
island’s strict building codes. In other words,
if you’re thinking about constructing your dream
home on Capri, think again. Almost no one receives permission
to build here.
 One
exception was Baron Jacques d’Adelsward-Fersen,
who commissioned the neoclassical Villa Lysis in the
early 1900’s. After being chased from France on
various charges of immorality, he settled with his teenage
lover in Capri where he wrote gay satirical novels and
threw extravagant parties. The local government now
owns the villa. It’s open to tourists sometimes,
but the hours vary. Best to check with the Capri
Tourist Office (http://www.capri.com)
for specifics.
The town of Anacapri, the “real”
Capri if you ask the locals, is up a craggy hill from
more heavily touristed Capri. While there are plenty
of fine hotels in Capri, you might be happier escaping
to Anacapri at the end of the day. Hotel Caesar Augustus
(http://www.caesar-augustus.com)
is not exactly a best-kept secret, but it thrives on
word-of-mouth recommendations. Consider this one of
them. Its 52 rooms are supremely comfortable, providing
all that you need, from a Jacuzzi to a private terrace,
with the best views of any hotel on the island—and
that’s saying something.
Anacapri has a distinct charm, even around the low-key
pottery shops near Villa San Michele, former home of
Swedish doctor Axel Munthe and now a museum. Also in
Anacapri is the Mount Solaro chairlift, rising
1,932 feet to the highest point on the island. This
ride is definitely not for the faint of heart (nor the
‘fraid of heights), but there are spectacular views
from the top.
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On
the Road, A Mini Gay Film Fest