The Red House Museum in Anacapri

About this activity

"Kaire o polita apragopoleos" meaning "Hello, citizen of the land of idleness," is how Colonel John Clay MacKowen greeted visitors to his home, now the Red House Museum in Anacapri. Among the simple little houses of Capri, this particular building, wanted by MacKowen, an archaeology-loving bibliophile doctor, stands out with its bright red color.

In 1184 he published the first monograph on the now-famous Isle of Capri. Initially, after the conflict with the United States, he emigrated to Europe, more specifically to Munich where he graduated in medicine in 1876.

He moved to Capri and lived with Maria Cimino, a local young woman, and together they had a daughter named Julia. MacKowen was known for his very peculiar disposition, switching easily from anger to generosity.

Why visit the Red House Museum

Built between 1886 and 1899 next to a 15th-century Aragonese tower, this particular museum houses several 19th-century paintings depicting the island's beautiful views and scenes of daily life: The Painted Island, a collection of 19th-century paintings by the Raskovich brothers and Mediterranean Lights, dedicated to Carlo Perindani. Since 2008, statues found at the bottom of the Blue Grotto (link to then Blue Grotto), evidence of Emperor Tiberius, who lived here on Capri between 27 and 37 AD, enriching the island with splendid villas and temples.

The complex is characterized by different architectural styles: the exterior and interior marble decorations and the vermilion-red coloro make the Red House a particularly unique dwelling. In the courtyard it is possible to admire the 1st-century priestess statue. The staircase, covered by a tiled dome, echoes the typical entrances of Capri houses. The Red House is rich in heterogeneous elements, indicating a nonlinear development of the design: classical columns, Moorish windows, medieval structures and oriental battlements blend harmoniously.