TEMPUS Magazine redefines time, giving you a glimpse into all things sophisticated, compelling, vibrant, with its pages reflecting the style, luxury and beauty of the world in which we live. A quarterly publication for private aviation enthusiasts.
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THE EMPEROR TIBERIUS THE SUCCESSOR OF AUGUSTUS, TIBERIUS MOVED TO CAPRI IN A.D. 27 TO GOVERN THE ENORMOUS ROMAN EMPIRE FROM HIS DOZ EN VILL AS HERE. 1. 2. One of the Emperor Tiberius' palaces, Damecuta, is believed to be connected to the Grotta Azzurra by a secret tunnel. ming the few strokes to the opening, I pulled myself along a chain embedded in the wall of the cave entrance, the waves threatening to dash me against the rocks every few seconds. Soon I was inside, and my eyes adjusted to the darkness. Deep beneath my feet, the water glowed that famous fuorescent blue, which CAPRI TOWN // Since 1845, the place to stay in Capri Town has been the Grand Hotel Quisisana, which has hosted every modern celebrity from Ernest Hemingway and JeanPaul Sartre to Tom Cruise and Sting (quisisana.com). After 5:00 p.m., when the crowds leave the island, head to fashionable Piazzetta, or "small plaza," and settle into the Bar Tiberio for a glass of Prosecco. For dinner, repair to Da Gemma, a historic restaurant once frequented by British novelist Graham Greene, then stroll to the fascinating nearby bookstore La Conchiglia LACONCHIGLIACAPRI.COM ANACAPRI // In the northwest, a steep path from the Villa Lysis provides the back route to Tiberius' palace, the Villa Jovis, or the Villa of Jupiter. Italian author Raffaele La Capria writes is "more blue than any other, blue below and blue above and blue along each curve of its vault." I was not disappointed: It was like swimming inside a jewel. Despite all Capri's transformations, the magic endures. For one of the best views in the Mediterranean, take a taxi to the revered Hotel Caesar Augustus in the town of Anacapri ("Upper Capri"), perched on the knife-edge of a 1,000-foot cliff across from Mount Vesuvius (caesaraugustus.com). Nearby is Villa San Michele, an art-flled refuge and bird sanctuary created by Swedish physician, author, and amateur archaeologist Axel Munthe. EXPLORING // Few people realize that three-quarters of this vertiginous island is virtual wilderness. From the Belvedere di Tragara overlook, follow a narrow path called the Via Pizzolungo: It was carved in pagan times and plunges down to sea level, where a café—Da Luigi—sits at the very base of the stone pillars of the Fareglioni, like the Clashing Rocks in Jason and the Argonauts. In the northwest, a steep path from the Villa Lysis provides the back route to one of Emperor Tiberius's palaces, the Villa Jovis (Villa of Jupiter). And the ultimate Capri hike is the Sentiero dei Fortini, the Path of the Small Forts, which leads to a series of wild headlands crowned by medieval towers on the island's forgotten and empty west coast—a step back into the solitude of antiquity. Summer 2013 . Tempus-Magazine.com 71