Capri - The Traditions

Santa Maria del Soccorso (Tiberio) – September 8th

The Festa of Santa Maria del Soccorso is celebrated the evening of September 7th in the small Church located within the archaeological site of Villa Jovis, in the Tiberio district, which is lit up for the occasion. The morning of September 8th Mass in honor of the Virgin is held.
The same day, in the little valley next to the ruins, the Piedigrotta Tiberiana is held with concerts and offerings of local delicacies.
Once upon a time, the Festa of Santa Maria del Soccorso was organized for young couples who headed to the mountain to confirm their vows of eternal love, with the promise to be wed within the year and, who, after the religious ceremony, partied until the early hours in the valley in honor of the virgin.

Santa Maria Della Libera – First Sunday after September 8th

The Festa di Santa Maria della Libera is celebrated on the first Sunday after September 8th, thus ensuring that it does not coincide with that of Santa Maris del Soccorso (Tiberio).
Devotion to the Madonna della Libera dates back to ancient times and it is thought that she was invoked by the population to save relatives who had been imprisoned, in other words, to liberate them.
The statue of the Madonna is conserved in the Church of the same name in Marina Grande and it is in this fishermen’s district that the festivities are held: the streets are adorned with colored lights and in the afternoon a procession takes place.
In the evening a concert is organized terminating with a firework display at midnight.

New Year's Eve – December 31st

The night of December 31st, New Year’s Eve, all the restaurants, clubs and hotels of Capri organize traditional New Year’s Eve celebrations.
After dinner, the islanders, with family or friends meet in the Piazzetta where to toast the arrival of the New Year and dance until dawn.
Weather permitting, the square is transformed in to a free, open air discotheque where visitors and islanders alike can dance until the early hours.

New Year Celebrations and Tarantella – January 1st and 6th

The evening of January 1st and 6th, in the two principal squares of Capri and Anacapri, competitions between the island folk groups are held.
The dancers, musicians and singers of the groups wear traditional costume which, for the women, consists in long red skirt with colored ribbon trim, white apron, white blouse and tight black bustier, their hair gathered under a colored headscarf and rope shoes; and for the men, black plus-fours, red cummerbund, white shirt, wool beret and rope shoes.
The groups fill the Piazzas with traditional Neapolitan music and dance the Tarantella, an ancient dance practiced throughout Southern Italy.

The Tarantella

The Tarantella is a folk dance of ancient origins which is danced throughout Southern Italy, passed from generation to generation.
The principal theme of the performance is the passion between men and women, represented in the form of music, dance and song. The origins of the Tarantella have been lost in time: there are even those who romantically claim that it was the three Graces who taught the dance to the women of Capri so as to give them a way to emphasize their beauty and thus compete with the seductive song of the Sirens. In the eroticism of the dance, others have found traces of the cult of the Ancient Greek God Dionisio, a cult widespread in the territory of the Magna Grecia and recognize the antique bacchantes in the frenetic dance of the women. The instruments used by the musicians are the traditional putipů, triccheballacche, scetavaiasse and siscariello.