Capri - Historic dwellings

Villa Lysis or Villa Fersen - Capri

This splendid building in Neoclassical style dating back to 1905, can be found on the road which leads to Villa Jovis, and contintuing straight ahead rather than turning right towards the archaeological site.
It was purchased by Capri Town Council and can be visited in the morning. It was named Villa Lysis in honor of the young friend of Socrates mentioned by Plato in the Dialogue on Friendship (Lysis), but is also known as Villa Fersen after its first owner, the French Count, Jacques Fersen d'Adelsward, poet and writer. The large garden is connected to the villa by a flight of steps which leads to a portico with ionic columns. In the atrium a marble stairway, with wrought iron balustrade, leads to the first floor where there are bedrooms with panoramic terraces, and a dining room. On the ground floor there is a lounge decorated with blue majolica and white ceramic, facing out over the Gulf of Naples. In the basement there is the 'Chinese Room' in which opium was smoked. Count Fersen lived here until his death by cocaine overdose in 1923. His ashes are conserved in the non Catholic cemetery of Capri.

Villa Malaparte - Capri

Villa Malaparte is situated on Capo Massello, along the Pizzolungo walk.
It is one of very few habitations on the island of Capri with its own private landing place. It was built in 1938 for Curzio Malaparte, author and journalist, who called it his “Home like me”. Curzio Malaparte arrived for the first time in Capri in 1936, to visit his friend Axel Munthe. He purchased the piece of land on the cliff edge on Capo Massullo from an islander. Whilst residing in the villa, Malaparte wrote part of Kaputt which tells of the wars in Europe. The bright red house stands out on the promontory with its form similar to that of a boat trapped between the rocks or a gigantic iron. The roof is formed by a large terrace, where Malaparte used to cycle, and by a long flight of steps. The interiors are spartan and severe, divided in two floors, with a huge living room with an awesome fireplace with a crystal bottom through which, as well as the fire, one can observe the sea and the Monacone stump. Today, Villa Malaparte is owned by the Giorgio Ronchi foundation, dedicated to Malaparte’s nephew who died in 1944 during the war.

Cerio Museum - Capri

The Cerio Museum is situated in the famous Piazzetta of Capri, opposite the Church of St Stefano. It is housed in the old palazzo built by the Arcucci and is run by the Centro Caprense Ignazio Cerio.
It was founded in 1949 by Edwin Cerio in memory of his father, and elected 'Moral Institution' by decree of the President of the Republic on October 20th 1949. The Museum houses approximately 20.000 natural and archaeological exhibits many of which inherited from the tireless Dr Ignazio Cerio who collected shells, fossils, rocks, plants and animals and promoted numerous nature studies in Capri. The Cerio Museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays (from 10.00 to 13.00) and Thursdays (from 15.00 to 19.00); the museum can also be visited outside of normal opening hours on request.

Il Rosaio - Anacapri

Villa Il Rosaio is located in Via Ceselle, in the old residential area of Anacapri. The house has been home to intellectuals, scholars and authors including, for a considerable length of time at the end of the nineteen forties, Graham Greene who chose the house as his second home. It originated as a country dwelling and owes its name to the splendid rose filled garden, cultivated by the house’s first illustrious guest, Mrs Hemsted. It was purchased by Cerio in 1911 who rented it out to artists and men of letters before living in it himself. The rural style was adapted to the requirements of the engineer who wrote 'Aria di Capri', 'L'Approdo', and 'Capri nel Seicento', here. The hospitality of Cerio and the pleasant ambiance greatly appealed to the artists who passed brief spells on the island.
Guests toh ave stayed in Villa Il Rosaio include Ada Negri, Maestro Cilea, Martinetti, Compton Mackenzie, Pamplova and Maestro Ottolino Respighi.

Villa Orlandi - Anacapri

In the ancient quarter of Le Boffe, Anacapri lies Villa Orlandi which, since 1939, belongs to the Cerio Foundation. An 18th century villa first called Casa della Badessa, in that it was once part of the Teresian Convent. It later became the property of Giuseppe Orlandi, town councillor at the time of construction of the carriageways connecting the center of Capri with Anacapri and Marina Grande.
The Villa is built on two floors and has an entrance avenue lined with a rustic colonnade, typical of the gardens of Capri. The interior is decorated with eighteenth century style mirrored vaults and stucco work. From the outside, a great number of chimney pots can be seen, indication of the presence of fireplaces in many of the rooms which, at the time of the building's construction would have been a sign of the inhabitants wealth and elevated social status. Today, Villa Orlandi houses the International Center for Scientific Culture of the 'Federico II' University of Naples.

Where to see the colonnades

The white colonnades of Capri are a common feature to be found in the oldest gardens of the Island of Capri, most probably originating from the trellises which by chance encroached on to the porticoes of the ruins of Roman villas.
Whilst the Roman garden was designed as the secret heart of the habitation, the gardens of Capri are an extension of the house towards the exterior, towards the panorama and the sea.
The presence of marble or plastered cement columns is so familiar a sight on the Island of Capri that it has now become a common trait in the majority of vernacular building work, associated with the presence of brick benches built between the columns where a particularly pleasant panorama is to be admired.

The Colonnades of Capri can be found in the grounds of:

• Villa Monacone, via Pizzolungo
• Casa La Solitaria, via Pizzolungo
• La Certosella, via Tragara 13
• Villa Moneta, via Tiberio 32
• Villa La schiava, via Tiberio 35
• Villa San Michele, Viale Axel Munthe
• Hotel Bellavista, via Orlandi 10
• Casa Orlandi, via Finestrale 2