Krupp Gardens – Gardens of Augustus

The love of the German magnate Alfred Krupp for Capri materialized at the beginning of the twentieth century with the purchase of a large agricultural fund that extended from the Certosa di S.Giacomo to Marina Piccola. His dream was to donate to his “Island of the Soul”, where he had found lost happiness. a road that connected the center of Capri with Mulo where he anchored his two beautiful yachts Puritan and Maya. Via Krupp, which the architectural historian Roberto Pane calls “a jewel set in the rock” was inaugurated in 1902 year in which the industrialist was named honorary citizen of Capri. Shortly after the so-called “Krupp scandal” (the accusation was to have organized orgies in the Grotto of Fra Felice) and the clamour aroused in the world forced Krupp to leave the island forever. Building via Krupp on the project of Ing. Mayer the German magnate reserved for himself, for his quietness and for his readings, a “winter garden” where he had hundreds of succulents planted. At the entrance he placed two monumental marble lions that are currently on the belvederes overlooking the gardens. After the First World War, the gardens were called Gardens of Augustus and succulents were replaced with flowers and shrubs from the island’s flora. In 1930 the terraces were opened to let tourists enjoy the spectacular view of the Faraglioni, the bay of Marina Piccola with the Scoglio delle Sirene and the mountain of Solaro. In 1970, a monument by the sculptor Manzù dedicated to Lenin was placed on the square adjacent to the gardens. The work is a reminder of the two visits that the Russian revolutionary made to his friend, the writer Maskim Gorky, who was staying at Villa Blaesus (now Villa Krupp), overlooking the gardens and the Faraglioni. In this house the Russian writer, who lived on Capri for seven years, organized a famous chess tournament in honor of Lenin to try to bring together the various revolutionary movements. Who won the tournament? It remains one of the mysteries of the history of Capri.

curated byRenato Esposito