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   Marina Piccola |
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Until the end of the last century, it consisted of corral-fishermen's houses overlooking two tiny gravel beaches near an ancient dock of Roman origin; the area developed significantly from the 1930's on, as vacationing tourist's were attracted by its excellent position. Lo Scoglio delle Sirene (Mermaids' Rock) Tied by tradition to the mythical enchantresses, it actually represents the dock of one of the island's Roman landings; this is shown by the remains of walls and pudding-stone structures still visible despite the radical transformation of the area as a result of the tourist facilities built in recent years.  La Canzone del Mare Originally a small English fort protecting entry into the Marina Piccola, it was transformed into a summer residence by the physician von Behring, and later lived in by the Marquis Adolfo Patrizi. In the 1930's, the famous English singer Grace Fields chose it as her residence. After the war, she transformed it into the "Canzone del Mare"("Song of the Sea") bathing establishment, an internationally famous high-society gathering place in the 1950's and 60's. The Saracen Tower Restored in recent times it was part of the system of watchtowers built on the island at the end of the middle ages and probably meant to defend the shipyards located in the nearby Arsenal Cave. It overlooks a small landing, today used as a bathing establishment and restaurant. Cave of the Ferns Located more than 150 meters above sea level on the south-east slope of Mount Solaro, it provides a small, barely visible shelter protected by a layer of rock that at some point detached itself from the mountain. It sits to the left of the much larger Cave of the Arch. The cave was definitely inhabited during the Neolithic and bronze ages, as shown by the hearths and the remains of painted pottery, as well as the millstones and human remains found over time by researchers. A scholar from Capri, Ignazio Cerio, gathered and arranged a significant collection of manufactured objects that he had retrieved between 1882 and the early 1900's. These and other artifacts found in later years are currently kept at the "Centro Caprense I. Cerio" in a building of the same name. A. MORAVIA, 1984 I suddenly stopped rowing, pulled the oars into the boat and looked about. I had rounded the promontory that closes off the bay of the Marina Piccola to the north; now I could see the portion of the coast of Capri that had been invisible from the bay. In that direction, another promontory, its sheer rock face dropping straight down to the sea amidst deep crevices, appeared foggy and remote in the middle of the sea. Between this distant promontory and the one I had just passed there was a series of small inlets. One of these sat right in front of me: at the edge of the green, shallow, transparent water was a beach of white pebbles surrounded by an amphitheatre made of red cliffs. |
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