Italy and England
mediterranean
off the beaten path via li campi & via posterula
I’ve gotten to know the ancient island of Capri and ana Capri fairly well over the last ten or so years and love still getting a bit lost when I go off the beaten path.
A quiet, labyrinthine neighborhood, Via li Campi, away from the crowds of Capri Town.
I wandered without a map past schoolchildren as they walked home from school. I wanted to find a local place not marked by tourists.
This was probably one of my favorite afternoons. I like to get a little bit lost in old neighborhoods.
Every corner held a new surprise… usually just another curvy turn but still, it was a surprise.
This was a tiny apartment courtyard . I would love to know the history of these walls and stairs.
I could walk this path all day. There’s a quiet in the shadows I long for.
So many colors and hues over decades.
Via Posterula
Further into the maze of private pedestrian streets.
One can hear the call of birds and the echo of footsteps on the rock.
Here the gardens are on the rooftops or behind high walls in private courtyards.
There are Capri hand painted tiles were all over the small neighborhoods.
Ana Capri is a great place to buy the artisan handmade tiles. I brought a few back home myself.
I’m working on a piece I did on my favorite tile shop, an interview with the owners and a photographic tour of the shop. I should be publishing it in the next few days.
sunset on the tyrrhenian sea
On a little boat floating around the island of Capri we gazed up at the rocks and watched as the sun slipped slowly down behind the cliffs.
Old barricades, canon heavy forts by the English and later the French, ancient walk ways of Romans and shepards, medieval paths with goats grazing on them, modern swimming clubs and fashion designer villas now sprinkle the soaring cliffs of Capri.
The sea is calm for a moment, the south wind changes, the sun slinks further down and there is an upheaval in the waves.
The boat rounds the entrance to another hidden grotto.
The famed Faraglioni rocks, with a boat passing under it’s arch. We are about to enter it ourselves.
Another boat races us to get there first. And yet we are all at a leisurely pace here. We are on “Capri time” as the locals say.
The shadows and light meet and turn the shimmering sea dark and the rock impenetrable.
It still amazes me how green things can grow out of prehistoric rock.
The shining sea, the endless sky, the stone as familiar as an old friend’s face you still remember instantly after a long absence.
In the rocks are countless animals and plant life, fishermen and birds of every color and song. In the water sea life and shells as exotic as halfway around the world.
The views some people have. The lives they lead. The quiet stories never known to outsiders.
Another Madonna of the Rocks, another Madonna of the Fishermen, of the sea. The Blue Grotto.
To think this island was settled thousands of years ago and that people thought they could climb these hills and mountains to make new lives.
The sunset kept receding and then bursting forth again as we sailed around the bends. The sun played a game with us.
On Capri, the clouds touch the rocks and one can lose them selves in the mist. The challenge is not falling off a cliff like an unlucky Roman.
Saying good-bye to Capri is never an option. It always calls you back, if, like me, you fall in love with it.
all photographs shot on fuji velvia 100 film slides by rebecca price butler – alovelettertorome.com
Memories of Capri
I saw this gorgeous photo shoot which reminded me of my week on Capri in 2006. Next month we are returning for a week on the beautiful island. In anticipation of this holiday I went through a few old shots of the island I took with my broken camera!
- photo by Leah Kua
The photographer is Leah Kua, photo courtesy of greylikesweddings.com
This photoshoot reminds me of a day in 2006 floating around Capri in the same style boat! Except somehow we didn’t come off as glamorous and dreamy. I didn’t feel that way anyway! When we stopped outside Tiberius’ Cave and jumped off the boat and swam into the mysterious Blue Grotto I got a weird rash from touching the algae or something. Then when I inelegantly hauled myself back up the boat ladder in my red faced 20th try, my hair dried plastered to my head, tangled and frizzy. We forgot to bring pellegrino and glasses or a picnic and got sunburns. (We were still incredibly enchanted and happy the entire boat trip – it was wonderful and dreamy to behold – but no-one would accuse us of being an effortlessly glamorous, photogenic couple like the one featured)! Hey they may look 1,000 times more fabulous but were have the bohemian chic schtick down pat. I mean, matching khakis couple? Just no. I joke… sort of.
So I poured over some old shots taken of my week in Capri in 2006 (taken with my old broken camera).
walking up the garden at the beautiful villa san michele
the blue grotto café near the docks
taken from a little boat floating around the island
a view from the room in 2006 (these shots were taken from my old broken camera and the photoshopping was harsh back then too)
a beautiful mist rolled into view one morning as we wandered around capri and ana capri. the architecture is white, blue and gold and elegantly beautiful. the pool was an interior ‘ancient roman’ style hand painted tile pool from our hotel the villa tiberius.
a love letter to rome 