Ceasar Bay, Capri, Italy ... Augustus, Rome’s first emperor passed away on 19th August AD14. In his lifetime he crowned new levels of bacchanalia, fratricide and raw power. Frustrated with his choice of holiday home, he swapped the island of Ischia for Capri. It’s the sort of gesture you might expect from the most powerful man in the world. After Augustus’s death on Capri 2,000 years ago, his successor, Emperor Tiberius, turned the island into a high-end beach club. Villas were built. Saunas were frescoed. Wine was shipped in from Napoli. Life was so good that Tiberius ran the Roman Empire from his island paradise! Two millennia ago, there were more fine wines and beautiful women on l’Isola Azzurra – the Blue Island – than in Rome itself. Some things never change, not least along Capri’s Jurassic coastline. Towering cliffs crumble into a turquoise sea to form secluded bays, sandy-bottomed coves and a chain of unnamed, unpopulated islands, Capri still epitomises island exclusivity. Its name conjures up café-strewn piazzas and flower-filled lanes. But hotels and moorings are scarce. By early evening only established guests remain. A sunset daiquiri followed by a jive are options only for a privileged few. The island values its clientele. In fact, Capri does everything it can to keep them returning year on year. Local authorities don’t expect visitors to scale its hills, so guests are whisked up on vintage chairlifts and funiculars instead. Island taxis are all cabriolets. The shopping is a heavenly distillation of Paris, London and Milan. Even Vladimir Lenin – a regular guest of writer Maxim Gorky – was smitten by Capri’s charms: “In just one day you see so much beauty that you sink into a daze”. Photos credit: unknown
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 19:54:27 +0000
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