Online Encyclopedia

commune of Capri, 3890, of Anacapri, 2316. It divides the exits from the bay into two, the Bocca Grande, about 16 m. wide, between Capri and See also:

ISCHIA (Gr. II19r)KO"va, Lat. Aenaria, in poetry Inarime)

Ischia, and the Bocca Piccola, 3 M. wide between Capri and the extreme See also:

south-See also:

west point of the See also:

peninsula of See also:

SORRENTO (anc. Surrentum, q.v.)

Sorrento. It is 4 M. in length and the greatest width is 11 m., the See also:

TOTAL

total See also:

AREA

area being 51 sq. m. The highest point is the See also:

MONTE

Monte Solaro (1920 ft.) on the west, while at the See also:

east end the cliffs rise to a height of 900 ft. sheer from the See also:

sea. The only safe landing-See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place is on the See also:

north side. There are two small towns, Capri (450s ft.) and Anacapri (98o ft.), which until the construction of a See also:

CARRIAGE

carriage road in 1874 were connected only by a See also:

FLIGHT

flight of 784 steps (the substructures of which at least are See also:

ancient). The island lacks See also:

WATER

water, . and is dusty during drought, but is fertile, producing See also:

FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

fruit, See also:

WINE (Lat. vinum, Gr. oivos)

wine and See also:

OLIVE (Olea europaea)

olive oil; the indigenous See also:

FLORA

flora comprises Boo See also:

SPECIES

species. The fishing See also:

INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry also is important.

But the prosperity of the island depends mainly upon See also:

FOREIGN

foreign visitors (some 30,000 annually), who are attracted by the remarkable beauty of the scenery (that of the See also:

COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast being especially fine), the views of the sea and of the Bay of Naples, and the purity of the See also:

air. The famous See also:

BLUE (common in different forms to most European languages)

Blue Grotto, the most celebrated of the many caves in the rocky shores of the island, was known in See also:

ROMAN

Roman times, but lost until 1826, when it was rediscovered. Another beautiful grotto has See also:

green instead of blue refractions; the effect in both cases is due to the See also:

LIGHT

light entering by a small entrance. The high See also:

LAND

land in the west of the island and the somewhat less elevated region in the east are formed of Upper Tithonian and See also:

LOWER

Lower Cretaceous limestones, the latter containing Rudistes. The intervening depression, which seems to be bounded on the west by a See also:

FAULT (Mid. Eng. faute, through the French, from the popular Latin use of fallere, to fail; the originallof the Latin being replaced in English in the 15th century)

fault, is filled to a large extent by sandstones and marls of See also:

EOCENE (Gr. *In, dawn, icauvos, recent)

Eocene See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age. A superficial layer of See also:

RECENT

recent volcanic tuffs occurs in several parts of the island. The Blue Grotto is in the Tithonian limestones; it shows indications of recent changes of level. ., The earliest mythical inhabitants (though some have localized the See also:

SIRENS (Gr. Metpi7ves)

Sirens here) are the Teleboi from See also:

ACARNANIA

Acarnania under their See also:

king Telon. See also:

NEOLITHIC, or LATER STONE AGE (Gr. vEOr, new, and XLOos, stone)

Neolithic remains were found in 1882 in the Grotta delle Felci, a See also:

cave on the south coast. In See also:

HISTORICAL

historical times we find the island occupied by Greeks. It subsequently See also:

fell into the hands of Neapolis, and remained so until the See also:

time of See also:

AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)

Augustus, who took it in See also:

EXCHANGE

exchange for Aenaria (Ischia) and often resided there. Tiberius, who spent the last ten years of his See also:

LIFE

life at Capri, built no fewer than twelve villas there; to these the See also:

GREAT

great See also:

MAJORITY (Fr. majorite; Med. Lat. majoritas; Lat. major, greater)

majority of the numerous and considerable ancient remains on the island belong.

All these villas can be identified with more or less certainty, the best preserved being those on the east extremity, consisting of a large number of vaulted substructures and the See also:

FOUNDATIONS

foundations perhaps of a Pharos (lighthouse). One was known as See also:

VILLA

Villa Jovis, and the other eleven were probably named after other deities. The existence of numerous ancient cisterns shows that in Roman as in See also:

MODERN

modern times See also:

RAIN (O.E. regn; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Regen, Swed. and Dan. regn; it has been connected with Lat. rigare, to wet, Gr. 13pixeav)

rain-water was largely used for lack of springs. After Tiberius's See also:

DEATH

death the island seems to have been little visited by the emperors, and we hear of it only as a place of banishment for the wife and See also:

SISTER

sister of See also:

COMMODUS, LUCIUS AELIUS AURELIUS (161-192)

Commodus. The island, having been at first the See also:

PROPERTY

property of Neapolis, and later of the emperors, never had upon it any community with civic rights. Even in imperial times See also:

Greek was largely spoken there, for about as many Greek as Latin See also:

INSCRIPTIONS (from Lat. inscribere, to write upon)

inscriptions have been found. The See also:

MEDIEVAL

medieval town was on the north side at the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief landing-place (Marina Grande), and to it belonged the See also:

church of S. See also:

COSTANZO, ANGELO DI (c 1507-1591)

Costanzo, an See also:

early See also:

Christian See also:

BUILDING

building. It was abandoned in the 15th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century on See also:

account of the inroads of pirates, and the inhabitants took See also:

REFUGE

refuge higher up at the two towns of Capri and Anacapri. In 18o6 the island was taken by the See also:

ENGLISH

English See also:

FLEET

fleet under See also:

Sir See also:

Sidney See also:

Smith, and strongly fortified, but in 18o8 it was retaken by the See also:

French under Lamarque. In 1813 it was restored to See also:

Ferdinand I. of the Two Sicilies. See J.

Beloch, Campanien (See also:

BRESLAU (Polish Wraclaw)

Breslau, 1890), 278 seq. ; G. Feola, Rapporto sullo stato dei ruderi Augusto-Tiberiani—M S. inedito, publicato dal Dott. Ignazio Cerio (Naples, 1894) ; F. Furchheim, Bibliografia dell' Isola di Capri e della provincia Sorrentina (Naples, 1899) ; C. Weichhardt, Das Schloss See also:

des Tiberius and andere Romerbauten auf Capri (See also:

LEIPZIG

Leipzig,' 1900). (T.

End of Article: CAPRI (anc. Capreae)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.

Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
CAPRERA

[next]
CAPRICCIO, or CAPRICE (Ital. for a sudden motion or...