3 Best Sights in Capri, Ischia, and Procida, Italy

Named in honor of the ancient Roman god Jupiter, 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. Lying near the easternmost point of the island, Villa Jovis is a powerful reminder of the importance of the island in Roman times. What makes the site even more compelling are the accounts of the latter years of Tiberius's reign from Capri (AD 27–37), written by authors and near-contemporaries Suetonius and Tacitus. This villa was famous for its sybaritic living, thus sounding a leitmotif whose echo can be heard at the luxurious hotels of today.

There are remarkably few discrepancies between the accounts of the two historiographers. Both point to Tiberius's mounting paranoia in Rome, while Tacitus outlines his reason for choosing Capri (Annals, Book IV): "Presumably what attracted him was the isolation of Capreae. Harborless, it has few roadsteads even for small vessels; sentries can control all landings. In winter the climate is mild, since hills on the mainland keep off gales. In summer the island is delightful, since it faces west and has open sea all round. The bay it overlooks was exceptionally lovely, until Vesuvius's eruption transformed the landscape." Capri in Roman times was the site of 12 spacious villas, but Villa Jovis is both the best preserved and must have been the largest, occupying nearly 23,000 square feet.

The entrance to the site lies just beyond the pharos (lighthouse) built under Tiberius and used until the 17th century to warn ships away from the narrows between Capri and the mainland. Pick up a site map at the ticket office, which gives a useful breakdown of the various areas of the villa to be visited. Nearby, you can find Salto di Tiberio (Tiberius's Leap), the place where ancient gossips believed Tiberius had enemies—among them his discarded lovers and even unfortunate cooks—hurled over the precipice into the sea some 1,000 feet below. After taking stock of this now-harmless viewing platform and its information panels, take the upper path past the baths complex around the palace residential quarters to view the heavily restored Chapel of Santa Maria del Soccorso and its large bronze statue of the Madonna, a gift to the island from the Caprese painter Guido Odierna in 1979. The walk around the perimeter of the site gives an idea of the overall layout of the palatial residence, which in places rose to five stories in height. From here descend some steps and then a ramp to the ambulatio (walkway), which offers additional spectacular views and plenty of shade, as well as a triclinium (dining room) halfway along. The center of the site is a complex devoted to cisterns. Unlike in Pompeii, there was no aqueduct up here to provide fresh running water, so the cisterns next to the bath complex were of prime importance. From La Piazzetta allow 45 minutes each way for the walk alone.

TIP Just before Villa Jovis enjoy some spectacular views from the multiterraced Parco Astarita and return to Capri Town via Villa Lysis to wander its beautiful gardens and eclectic Stile Liberty interiors, built in 1905.

In 1972 local divers found fragments of Roman ceramics in the Bay of Cartaromana, just across from the castle, leading to the 2011 discovery of Aenaria, a Roman settlement destroyed in a volcanic eruption around AD 150 (aenum is the Latin for metal), and referred to in records by Pliny the Elder. The excavations that began in 2011 are still ongoing, and Il Borgo del Mare organizes a tour in a glass-bottom boat as well as snorkeling tours.

One of the best excursions from Anacapri is to the ruins of the Roman Villa di Damecuta. Sited strategically on a ridge with views sweeping across the Bay of Naples toward Procida and Ischia, the villa would have had its main access point at the landing stage right by the Grotta Azzurra at Gradola. This was probably one of the villas mentioned by Tacitus in his Annals as having been built by Tiberius: "Here on Capreae, in twelve spacious, separately named villas, Tiberius settled." Like Villa Jovis to the east, Villa di Damecuta was extensively plundered over the centuries prior to its proper excavation in 1937. Below the medieval tower (Torre Damecuta), there are two rooms (domus and cubiculum) that are thought to have been Tiberius's secret summer refuge. Affinities with Villa Jovis may be seen in the ambulatio (walkway) complete with seats and a stunning backdrop. To reach Villa Damecuta, get the bus from Anacapri to Grotta Azzurra and ask the driver to let you off at the proper stop. Alternatively, you can walk down from the center of Anacapri—from behind the Santa Sofia church take the well-marked network of virtually traffic-free little alleyways running parallel to the main road (about 30 minutes).