Capri's Blue Grotto: a unique jewel in the world

About this activity

The Blue Cave is the most famous attraction of Capri, in the locality of Anacapri. Visiting this magical place is simple. Get into a small rowboat and let the sailor pull you towards the less than one meter high entrance arch of this natural wonder. To access it you need to lie on the bottom of the boat , the sailor with the help of a rope then enters the cave.

Initially everything will be dark, but then the darkness will give way to clear blue reflections, you are in the Blue Cave. In here it feels like flying suspended in the sky. The color of the water is due to an underwater window placed under the entrance opening from which the sun's rays enter.

The Blue Grotto is located along the northwest coast of the island and is full of environments not visited by tourists, in addition to the largest part, known as the Azure Cathedral, there is the Hall of Pillars, named for the numerous stalactites and stalagmites present, the Hall of Names, for the signatures of nineteenth- and twentieth-century travelers left on the limestone concretions (calcium carbonate deposits), and the Hall of Corrosion, where the explorable part of the cave ends due to unbreathable air.

There is also the so-called Second Blue Cave, a small cave that opens to the east of the Blue Dome.

History of the Blue Grotto

Known since Roman times, attendance ceased in the Middle Ages as many stories began to circulate in which it appeared to be the abode of evil spirits, damned souls and mermaids. No one entered it until August 17, 1826, when a young poet and painter, August Kopisch Had the audacity to enter it.

Later another story spread, the first explorer would not be Kopisch but the fisherman Angelo Ferraro known as "the Hedgehog," who allegedly led Kopisch to the cave, the diatribe went on for almost a century, especially during the period of fascism, since an Italian wonder could not have been discovered by a foreigner. The issue was later resolved with a compromise: Ferraro knew the cave but it was also thanks to Kopisch that it became famous.

Starting in 1826, the few visitors who came to Capri read the description of the cave, went to visit it, and being enraptured by its splendor wrote about the cave in their travelogues and talked about it with their compatriots. Thus the myth of Capri was born and it became a milestone in the Grand Tour.

The presence of a staircase connecting it to Villa of Gradola, part of the complex of the Villa of Damecuta, testifies that it may have been used as a freshwater reservoir, but its main function was as an imperial nymphaeum (a typical Roman hall in which to spend idle moments), particularly preferred by theEmperor Tiberius, as evidenced by the finding of several sculptures on the cave floor, unfortunately ruined by the action of marine organisms. It was only possible to recognize elements of the classical style with Hellenistic features; the irregular back lines, the cut at the knees, and the presence of the hooks reveal that these statues were made so that, like marine deities, they rose from the cave to pay homage to the emperor.

The Blue Grotto a source of artistic inspiration

The cave in the 1800s became an emblem of the Romanticism, widely treated artistically. With the publication of the novel The improviser by Hans Christian Andersen in 1835 became world-famous, then followed The Tale of the Blue Grotto by William Weblinger, The island of kisses by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. There are numerous poems and descriptions such as those by Gogol, Mendelssohn and Gregorovius.

He then also landed in contemporary literature with Murder in the Blue Grotto by Emilio Giarrusso and Brother Sea by Emilio Bambarè.

An artistic strand also developed with many paintings and representations, particularly the Neapolitan School, initially with works that were considered valuable paintings, then unfortunately became low-quality souvenirs.

In Linderhof Castle, Ludwig II had the Cave of Venus whose shape and electric lighting was inspired by the Blue Grotto.

The origins of the Cave

No study has been conducted on the cave. It probably has an origin tettono-carsica, i.e., due in part to movements of the earth's crust, and in part to karstification, a phenomenon in which limestone rocks are altered by the action of water and acid (e.g., during rainfall).

These phenomena led to the formation of tunnels, which were then filled in by rising sea levels, going into hyperkarst due to the meeting of sea water and fresh water thus giving rise to the cave over the past 20,000 years. The blue light is due to a special phenomenon of light refraction that makes it unique in the world.