Axel Munthe, a fashionable Swedish doctor, came to Capri at the end of the nineteenth century. He acquired the ruin of San Michele chapel at near the mountain village of Anacapri, to which he added surrounding land over a period of years. He renovated the buildings and stocked them with ancient Roman and Greek antiques. He even managed to get a red granite Egyptian sphinx up there, though how this was done is still a mystery.
After an eye illness Munthe retired to a nearby ancient tower, where he wrote The Story of San Michele, a history of the villa, intermeshed with stories from his own experiences. The book was a run-away best seller all over the world.
The picture on the right shows the Pergola, with a view to the east
across the Marina Grande.
The entrance to the villa.
email: dconlan@iol.ie