The winding road guided us on a breathtaking journey through the Isle of Capri to the town of Anacapri, perched on a mountainside overlooking the azure sea. Before the road was built, the only way to reach Anacapri was by La Scala Fenicia, the Phoenician Steps. The Greeks (not the Phoenicians) probably created the steps, which were carved from the dolomite cliff face leading from the areas of the Grand Marina to San Michele...involving an elevation change of about 327 meters.
Our first stop was a visit to a man who showed us how they made inlaid furniture, a trade with a long history in the town. The table in the picture is a game table, filled with hidden compartments and inlaid game boards. The beauty and precision of their work is astounding! We then walked along the path to San Michele, encountering the treasures that you see in the photographs below.
A poem on one wall intrigued me, so I translated it using "Google Translate." The translation is below the poem's image. Let me know if the translation in not accurate. I find the poem to be lovely and expressive of the ambiance of this special island! I wanted to stay there forever!!!!
We sing to
you, green Anacapri, tell you that silence closes like a vest;
Sing the
peace that flows in you like blood, sweet and kind, without disturbance.
Tell the
broom plant that crowns the mountain who is grateful for the ilex shade in the
afternoon,
Tell the
prickly pear, which offers open palms to the stigmata of the sun.
But now and
later:
The day already
declines and the mountains are blue shadows.
Feel that
slight chirp of birds, hiding low in the bushes?
It is late
now: you need to go,
There is
already a bit of a Tiberius moon, just a comma, and the new moon, one more time
...
Now I decide
to go that way between the mountains and the sea and I'm going to accompany a
firefly.
Alma Syracuse Vuotto
Additional information about Capri can be found at
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