In 2023, Capri was visited by fourteen million tourists, mostly one-day visitors, while only fourteen thousand people live there on its ten square kilometers of land. Today, one ferry or hydrofoil has not even left the Marina Grande dock before another arrives, not to mention private boats or cruise ships. It seems all the more unreal, even absurd, to think that once it must have been empty and idyllic here, and that tourists were a sight as rare as they are today in the off-season on the wildest and most remote Italian islands. And yet there were people, living not so long ago, who had the opportunity to see such a Capri.
Capri – in search of beauty hidden behind commercialism
My first one-day visit to Capri many years ago was not a success. It was a typical hydrofoil trip from Naples, during which we visited only a few of the ten or so places considered to be must-sees. Although the calendar showed early June, the weather that day was awful; the sky was full of low, white-gray clouds that threatened to rain at any moment, and it had cooled down to the point where I froze. The restless sea tossed the hydrofoil from side to side, and the air was heavy with sticky humidity.
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The only advantage was the emptiness, because other one-day tourists – very rightly – had given up on the trip that day. Foggy Capri also has its charm, it is then enveloped in a certain aura of mystery, but there is no way to experience the wonderful colour of the sea contrasting with the lush green of the numerous gardens and panoramic terraces. It took a dozen or so years before I decided to return. I wanted it to be a trip of several days, unhurried, so that I could reach the lesser-known ends of the island, but also without the company of the legendary, frightening crowds. The decision was made – four days at the beginning of October, then it will certainly be quite relaxed, although the weather may not be cooperating.
The exact opposite happened. The hydrofoil from Ischia landed in Capri at noon. The forecast predicted that throughout my stay nature would pamper me with a cloudless sky and high, but not too hot, temperatures. I disembarked and headed for the ticket office to get a bundle of “single-use passes” for the buses. I headed for the bus stop and got in line for the bus that would take me to Anacapri. The waiting area for the bus is fenced off with steel pipes to prevent people from pushing in at the front. On the one hand, this turned out to be a good solution, but on the other hand it reminded me of a situation on a buffalo farm I had visited a few years earlier in southern Campania, where the animals used exactly the same passages, between identical pipes, to get to the milking machines and then return to their pasture. If only a person could fit on the first bus that arrived, but alas: even in October, this was only the third orange bus.
If someone gets sick in the heat, made worse by the sun-warmed roof over the bus stop, or needs a drink of water or to use the toilet across the street, they have to get out of the queue, squeezing between people or pipes. I waited for about forty minutes before getting on the bus. In the meantime, several taxis drove past – strange, artificially elongated passenger cars to squeeze more tourists into them. Some of them were convertibles, with a stretched tarpaulin instead of a roof, some with kitschy pink stripes painted right on the border between the body and the chassis. I wonder who allowed such an eyesore to drive on the streets of this beautiful island. Finally, a seat was found for me on the bus – not a seat, of course – so I went over, and the man standing by the door not only checked if I had bought a ticket, but also took it from me and stamped it himself.
I can’t help but feel that tourists are pigeonholed here as potential fraudsters and sheep to be sheared. Once a ticket is validated, it expires when you leave the bus, even if you get off at the first stop. At least you don’t have to worry about exceeding the travel time when the bus is stuck in the constantly forming traffic jams on the only road. The journey to Anacapri takes half an hour instead of fifteen minutes, and people travel packed like sardines in a can, grateful if they can hold on to anything at all, instead of counting on keeping their balance in the crush as the bus negotiates sharp bends. When I finally reach my destination, I feel tired from the day, even though the clock shows only lunchtime. I set off down a side street – Via Giuseppe Orlandi – towards the tiny apartment waiting for me. I stop for a quick lunch at the street food stand Pizze e Pasta, where Signora Marianna and her husband sell fresh, delicious snacks: pizza by the slice, sandwiches, panzerotti, and arancini rice balls with various fillings. This is a great option for those limited by both time and budget. Just a few dozen meters and I’m there.
“Despite the calendar autumn, summer is in full swing”
Right next door, on the same street, is one of Anacapri’s biggest attractions: the beautiful, small church of San Michele Arcangelo. In the mid-18th century, an impressive majolica floor was laid with over 2,500 hand-painted Neapolitan tiles depicting Adam and Eve being expelled from paradise. This work can be admired from above thanks to the balcony above the entrance, which is open to visitors. This is not the only way to see the colourful tiles in the town, as they also decorate numerous benches stretching along both sides of Piazza Diaz. Anacapri is the lower station of the chairlift to Monte Solaro (589 m above sea level), the highest peak on the island, from which – if the visibility is good – there are stunning panoramas covering both Capri and the Sorrentine Peninsula, a large part of the Amalfi Coast and Vesuvius.
Despite the calendar autumn, summer is in full swing on Capri, and the pine trees growing on the mountainside smell intensely in the full sun. Single chairs glide slowly; you can not only admire the surroundings from them, but also look into the gardens of the residents. Down below, there is no shortage of hats blown off heads by a stronger gust of wind or single, lonely people without their pair of flip-flops, which slipped unnoticed from the feet of unfortunate tourists. The lucky ones who manage to reach the top fully dressed can enjoy the surroundings almost completely stress-free, making sure only to make it down before the lift closes.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
