Travel Guide: Capri / L'Isola Azzurra

What to do and what to avoid on Capri

Above the entrance to Anacapri’s Casa Rossa, an inscription in Greek is carved into stone: “Hello citizens of the city of sweet doing nothing”.

The original owner, American southern colonel J.C. Mackowen, deliberately chose to write this in another language than Italian, as it is open to interpretation, one not being so flattering to the local community.

Many visitors have come to Capri and found it to be an immense source of creativity for writing or producing art, while others have immediately become so enamoured with the slow lifestyle of southern Italy that they end up doing not much at all, save enjoying the soft breeze and warm sunshine.

Perhaps the locals wouldn’t be so happy to be described as living in a city defined by “doing nothing”.