Capri - Church of the Croce - Villa Lysis - Villa Jovis.

From the Piazzetta of Capri, through the arch below the town hall, one accesses Via Longano.
The houses were built on Greek walls, and three vaulted passages testify to the medieval character of the constructions, easily barricaded in case of attacks by pirates.
Piazzetta Cesare Battisti marks the end of Via Longano. The red palazzo on its boundary was once owned by Nobel prize winner, Emil von Behring, the scientist responsible for creating the diphtheria and tetanus vaccines. Other illustrious past residents include Massimo Gorkij, who offered hospitality to Lenin, and the field-marshal Armando Diaz.
Via Sopramonte is the last stretch of road to be lined with medieval buildings, which subsequently opens out onto a panoramic avenue with views on to Monte Tuoro and, to the right, the Castiglione.
Once at the crossroads of the Croce, turn left.
At the top of the slope, to the left, lies the Church of the Cross or of St Michele, open to the public exclusively for religious services. The church has an entrance formed by a covered portico supporting a small belfry.
At the start of Via Cesina one finds the entrance to the privately owned Villa San Michele, boasting a beautiful garden with ornamental flights of steps, statues, and a small neoclassical temple which rises up to touch the summit of Monte San Michele
Continuing onwards one passes through vineyards and small allotments, which emphasize the rural origins o the area. At the Barbone junction, proceed to the left. Within meters lies the entrance of Villa Moneta, with its façade decorated with fragments of Roman Sculptures.
At a certain point the road curves to the right towards Villa Jovis: proceeding straight ahead, one accesses Via Lo Capo, leading to Villa Lysis, known also as Villa Fersen, after Count Fersen who commissioned the neoclassical building, with some additional Liberty influences, in 1905.
Proceeding towards Villa Jovis, just prior to the archaeological site, one can visit the Astarita Park with its myriad of pathways, cypress tree lined avenues and numerous viewpoints.
Finally one reaches Villa Jovis, celebrated residence of the Emperor Tiberius, perched on the cliff edge 300 meters above sea level gazing out over the whole of the Gulf of Naples, the Amalfi Coast, the port of Marina Grande, Castiglione, S. Michele and Palazzo a Mare. The ruins, open to the public until an hour before sunset, give visitors a good idea of what the villa of the Emperor would have looked like in Roman times, including evident traces of cisterns and other rooms.