History
According to some scholars Capri takes its
name from the Greek word kapros that means wild pig, other
scholars believe that the name is derived from Caprea which
 means “isle of the rough stones”.
In fact till the beginning of the last century Capri was
in no way the “happy isle” that we know today
as there was no modern water supply or other comforts. Only
towards the end of the first half of the XX century Capri
started to be a famous resort for tourists, poets and artists
from all over the world. In prehistoric times the isle was
inhabited since the Neolithic age.
Then it was inhabited by the Phoenicians and the Greeks who
erected on the isle a building called “efebo” to
educate the youth. During the Roman period Capri grew in
importance thanks to the emperor Cesare Ottaviano who preferred
this isle to Ischia.
Once the Roman Empire collapsed, Capri was subjugated to the Neapolitan domination.
During the reign of Federico II Capri became a feud of Eliseo Arcucci, and with
the advent of the Anjou the isle obtained many privileges and funds were donated
to build the Certosa di San Giacomo.
 King Ladislao decided that all the inhabitants of the isle
were exempted from taxation.
These favours were cancelled by Alfonso of Aragon who imposed
many prohibitions and separated the Capri and Anacapri communities.
During the seventeenth century the plague killed more than
half of the population. Ferdinando IV of Bourbon founded
in Capri the agricultural and nautical school and a silk
industry.
As he was also interested in archaeology he gave the direction
of the works to the Austrian Nobert Hadrawa who found many
ruins of imperial villas.
copyright Starnetwork srl-
Written by: Teresa Gagliardi
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