Villa San Michele

Description

The villa's gardens have panoramic views of the town of Capri and its harbour, the Sorrentine Peninsula, and Mount Vesuvius. The villa sits on a ledge at the top of the Phoenician Steps, between Anacapri and Capri, at a height of 327 m above sea level.

San Michele's gardens are adorned with many relics and works of art dating from ancient Egypt and other periods of classical antiquity. They now form part of the Grandi Giardini Italiani.

In his later years, Axel Munthe wrote his youthful memoir The Story of San Michele, which describes how he first visited the island and built the villa, decorated with the remains of palaces built by the Ancient Romans which he found on his land. This colourfully written book was first published in 1929 and became an immediate worldwide success, being translated into many languages. It has been reprinted many times since then.

Between 1919 and 1920, Munthe was an unwilling landlord to the outrageous socialite and muse Luisa Casati, who took possession of Villa San Michele. This was described by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie in his diaries.

Gallery

File:Villa San Michele Sphinx.jpg|Sphinx File:The loggia at Axel Munthe's Villa San Michele 2005.jpg|Pergola with Roman statue File:Axel munthe's chapel - villa san michele.jpg|Chapel File:Villa San Michele Interior.jpg|Loggia with statues File:Loggia at Villa San Michele.jpg|Pergola File:View from Villa San Michele.jpg|View of the sea from Villa San Michele

References

References

1. (1997). "Italy Italy". Italy-Italy Corporation.
2. Ryersson, Scot D.. (2004). "Infinite variety: the life and legend of the Marchesa Casati". [[University of Minnesota Press]].