Villa Jovis

One of the things I liked best about the Fodor’s book Naples, Capri and the Amalfi Coast is that for each area it had a section called “A Good Walk.” We followed the ‘good walk’ for the Capri Town side of the island. From the port we got off the boat and walked up a former mule track that brought us up the island to Capri Town. While it said it would take about 15 minutes I determined that was 15 minutes Italian walking. It always seemed to take us a little longer than what the book said. Maybe an extra 10-15 minutes which could be due to us walking a little slower as there were so many new things to look at. Once at the top we arrived at Piazza Umberto better known as La Piazzetta an had an amazing view looking out over Capri. We walked around the town a little and then picked up our ‘good walk.’ About an hour walk from Capri Town we came to Villa Jovis.

From Fodor’s book, Naples, Capri and the Amalfi Coast:

“Named in honor of the ancient Roman god Jupitor, or Jove, the villa of the emperor Tiberius is riveted to the towering Rocca di Capri like an eagle’s nest overlooking the strait separating Capri from Punta Campanella, the tip of the Sorrentine peninsula. Although criticized by locals for the visible conditions of neglect, Villa Jovis is nonetheless a powerful reminder of the importance of the island in Roman times.

This was the first ruins we had seen on our trip so I was pretty impressed walking through here (I still find them impressive even after going to Pompeii and Rome). I was amazed by their architectural design. Notice the patterns they used with brick and stone…such detail. We had bought lunch in Capri Town and decided to find an area to eat. The villa was on a seaside cliff so it was pretty easy to find a spot with a view. While I tried to take a couple of shots over the cliff none of them really showed the depth of the height we were at. I even had a bit of vertigo when looking down.