Capri [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION Capri: millennial beauty, a precious gem set in the azure sea of the Gulf of Naples; a fantastic testimony to the extraordinary and never-ending miracles that nature has worked from time immemorial. A dream island which suddendly appears to the visitor, emerging from the transparent waters of the Gulf like a mirage: an apparition which excites disbelief in the fear lest it vanish into thin air. Yet it is actually there, real and magnificent, with its spectacular white cliffs soaring up from the deep like the mighty pinnacles and buttresses of some gothic cathedral, made even more sublime by their reflection in those waters which, in projecting them down to their sea-bed, repeats and facets their contours, and softens their forms and colours. In other places, less precipitous slopes, carpeted in lush vegetation, descend gently to the coast and lose themselves in innumerable silent inlets and bays. Situated amid this splendid carpet of vegetation, in the midst of lush woodland, the houses of Capri and Anacapri can be glimpsed, solitary or grouped together here and there like flocks at pasture. The picture is a bucolic one which gives a presentiment of the enchantment and peace of this land and speaks directly to the heart, prompting unusual sensations akin to those aroused by the proud and solemn beauty of its cliffs. Even the island's two mountains, Monte Tiberio and Monte Solaro, though both modest in altitude - the former 335 m. and the latter 590 m. - soar proudly and superbly over their surrounding landscape, thanks to their particular geological formation: awesomely high rock faces, almost like cyclopean walls, suddenly and precipitously emerge from the island's gently sloping plateau and stand out clearly against the blue sky. As the visitor gradually approaches, and discovers more and more of Capri's reality, his wonder only increases, and the magic of nature becomes more intense, more penetrating, more overpowering. His gaze roves over the island, constantly taking in new perspectives, new views, new impressions. And these, he discovers, are ever changing and ever more fascinating, because it is precisely this that constitutes the essence of Capri: this continuous and astonishing kaleidoscope of images, this swiftly altering landscape, now gentle and restful, now awesome and wild.