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Last Visited: May, 2001
History:
During our trip to Italy we had the opportunity to visit the island of Capri, which is just off the Amalfi Coast. I had seen on one map that there was a lighthouse at the northeastern tip of the island, although when we got to the island we were unable to find any map which showed a lighthouse there. On the boat ride back to Sorrento we saw a beacon at the bottom of a tall cliff/mountainside, and figured that was the "lighthouse". But as we got farther away from the island we were able to see that the lighthouse was, in fact, at the TOP of the cliff. I was able to get a few distant pictures of the light with my digital camera, but only a couple since we didn't realize the lighthouse was where it was.
Here is some newly found information on the lighthouse found on the Capridream web page at http://www.capridream.com/ing/t-villajovis.htm . This web page talks about the Villa Jovis, which was built by Tiberius, the Roman Emperor who succeeded the Emperor Augustus. The villa sits 600 meters atop the massive cliff of Mount Tiberio, overlooking Marina Grande and the rest of Capri:
...On the northern side of the complex there is the overhang called salto di Tiberio (Tiberius jump) (297 m). It was the site from which Tiberius, according to some legends, threw to the sea his victims after several torments and torture. The villa includes also the Faro (the Lighthouse) that lit up the seas of Capri. People think that it was damaged after few days of Tiberius death owing to an earthquake. This lighthouse was the means by which people communicated with the nearby Sorrento and with Miseno that was the imperial fleet house. Furthermore it was the benchmark for sailors. After that it was restored by Domitianus and used for a long time, it was damaged again by lightning and now the remains of his top are scattered on the grass.
The following short piece of information was obtained from the Explore Italy website at http://www.premier.net/~Italy/jovis.htm :
The Roman Lighthouse and the Jumping-Off Point of Tiberius
The ruins of a square construction rising to a height of roughly 16 m. at a point approximately 100 m. to the south of the dig were once a signal tower from which fire was used to communicate with Rome via the lighthouses on the Campanella Point and Cape Miseno.
Suetonius reports that the lighthouse collapsed on account of an earthquake a few days before the death of Tiberius. It was rebuilt by Domitian and functioned as a lighthouse for ships up to the 17th century.
Directions:
- Our apologies if these directions aren't perfect.... We highly recommend you obtain a map of Capri once on the island.
- From Sorrento we took the boat over to Capri, landing in Marina Grande on the northern side of the island.
- Once in Marina Grande, take the "train" up the mountain to Castiglione
- Take a left onto Via Botteghe (which becomes Via Fuorlovado... which becomes Via Croce... which becomes Via Tiberia).
- At the end of Via Tiberia the road becomes a "secondary" road. At this point it is highly recommended to refer to a map to wind your way thru the back roads to get to the lighthouse.
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