Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The vast pleasure complex famously pandered to the emperor's lustful desires, and in-
cluded imperial quarters and extensive bathing areas set in dense gardens and woodland.
His private rooms were on the northern and eastern sides of the complex.
The stairway behind the villa leads to the 330m-high
Salto di Tiberio
(Tiberius' Leap), a
sheer cliff from where, as the story goes, Tiberius had out-of-favour subjects hurled into
the sea. True or not, the breathtaking views are real enough; if you suffer from vertigo,
tread carefully.
A short walk from the villa, down Via Tiberio and Via Matermània, is the
Arco Naturale
- a huge, photogenic rock arch formed by the pounding sea.
Certosa di San Giacomo
MONASTERY
( 081 837 62 18; Viale Certosa 40; 9am-2pm Tue-Sun)
Generally considered the
finest surviving example of Caprese architecture, this picturesque monastery now houses
a school, library, temporary exhibition space and a museum with some evocative 17th-
century paintings. While the chapel has some soothing 17th-century frescoes, it's the two
cloisters that have a real sense of faded glory (the smaller dates to the 14th century, the
larger to the 16th century).
To reach here take Via Vittorio Emanuele, to the east of Piazza Umberto I, which mean-
ders down to the monastery.
Giardini di Augusto
(Gardens of Augustus; admission €1; 9am-1hr before sunset)
Get away from the Capri crowds
by heading southwest from the Certosa di San Giacomo monastery where, at the end of
Via G Matteotti, you'll come across the unexpected green oasis of the colourful Giardini
di Augusto, founded by the Emperor Augustus. You should spend a few minutes contem-
plating the breathtaking view from here: gaze ahead to the
Isole Faraglioni
, the three dra-
matic limestone pinnacles that rise vertically out of the sea.
GARDEN
