CAPRI, kr-pre, Italy, an island in the beautiful Gulf of Naples, which contributes not a little to the charms of this favorite scene of nature. Capri, five miles long and three broad, lies at the entrance of the gulf, and consists of two mountains of limestone, remarkable for their picturesque shape, and a well-cultivated valley. The inhabitants amounting to about 5,000, are occupied in the production of oil and wine, in fishing and in catching quails, which come in immense numbers from Africa to the shores of Italy. Every spot on the island which can be made productive is culti vated. In fact, agriculture all around Naples is in the highest state of perfection. The town of Capri is the seat of a bishop. A high rock separates Capri from the little town of Ana capri, which is reached by 522 steps cut in the rock in 1876. The highest point on the island is Mount Solaro, which rises 1,920 feet above the sea. Capri has a delightful climate and pure air, and is visited annually by over 30,000 tourists. It is a favorite summer resort for the Neapolitans, being distant but 20 miles southwest of their city. The supply of drink ing water is far from satisfactory. With the Romans Capri was called Caprele. Augustus obtained it from the Neapolitans in exchange for Ischia, and made it a place of agreeable retreat, but never made use of it. Tiberius spent ere the last seven years of his life in degrading voluptuousness and infamous cruelty. The ruins of his palaces are still extant, and other ruins are scattered over the island. The island of Capri is notable for several re markable caverns or grottoes in its steep, rocky coast. By far the most remarkable of these is unquestionably the celebrated Grotta azzurra (Blue Grotto), which was discovered by a singular accident in the summer of 1832, an Englishman while bathing having observed the opening in the rocks which forms the en trance to the grotto, and swum into it. It
gets its name from the fact that, while the sun is shining outside, all the objects within the cavern— rocks, water and sand—are tinged with a beautiful blue color, very oft and agreeable to the eye. The
is ellip tical in form, measuring about 1,200 or 1,300 feet in circumference; its height is about 41 feet with water 48 feet deep, and its roof and sides bristle with stalactites. The blue color within the grotto is supposed to be caused by the refraction of the rays of light in passing through the water before entering the cave. The blue rays, with those next to them, the violet and the indigo, being the most refran gible, are the only rays that are admitted, the others—red, orange, etc., being dispersed in the water. In another part of the coast there is another grotto which exhibits phenomena precisely similar, •except that the objects in this one are clothed with a green instead of a blue color. It is hence called the• Grotta verde (Green Grotto). The English captured the island in 1806 and fortified it, but lost it to the French two years later. They recovered it in 1813 and restored it to King Ferdinand IV
Sicily. Consult Allers, 'Capri> (Munich 1894); Furchheim,