Luxury Property Castle of Capri "Castiglione" - Ref.cs01
Villa Castiglione: The second dwelling of Tiberius Caesar
The history of Castiglione is closely bound to the history of Capri from the same age of the Imperial Rome to the Capri of 2000. Since the age of the Romans we have known about Capri from Virgilio and then it was made legitimate by Tacitus with such lines as: " Then Tiberio fixed his dwelling in 12 villas, each with its own name and of a very large size, and in the same measure in which he had previously devoted himself to the state affairs he took to secret debaucheries and deplorable leisures ". (Tacitus, Annals 4,67)
For its strategic location commanding the town of Capri and further analyses, we are sure that one of these villas or perhaps the second one, was important after Jovis Villa. The ruins found in the Castiglione, at 250 meters high up above the sea, have been put under the protection of Neptune in compliance with representations of fabulous marine beings found there, partially attributed to Apollo as a result of the presumed finding, always in that place, of a statue of this divinity. Evidences of this great villa on the imposing cliffs of the Castiglione were made by two amateur archeologists , Dr. Giraldi and Nobert Hadrawa, this last one also found out the existence of a spa waters area. Besides carrying out the first excavations, they started the first pillages .
The valuable marble floor was removed in order to enrich the palace of the Borbons in Caserta and all that was found was sold and given : statues, bas-reliefs, vases, cameos. Several art treasures were destroyed by the same inhabitants of Capri who took away, over time, all that they found according to the needs in their lime furnaces. Moreover, the lead pipes of the ancient aqueduct were fused and the vases were crushed by the same inhabitants in the attempt of finding treasures of gold coins.On the Castiglione hill and over the cove with the same name, which overlooks from that height the built-up area of Capri, was built later, and certainly also before the year 1000, as it turns out from some documents of the Maritime Republic of Amalfi, a fortified construction of quadrangular form with embattled walls strengthened with two nougats in the edges. In the middle there were the keep and a small chapel dedicated to the Madonna della Libera with her image painted by painter Crisculo , today restored and that can be admired in the Cathedral of St.Stephen. The image rose as protector of the inhabitants of Capri from the invasions of the Turks commanded by Khair-ed-din Barbarossa.
Through the centuries the Castle has undergone numerous and radical restorations beginning from Carl d' Angió who, in 1283, convinced of the strategic ímportance of the Island, reinforced the defensive structures entrusting it to castle lords that had the task of supervising the sea trait between Capri and Punta della Campanella. This building, in any case, has played an essential role in the political and military management of Capri under the several rules and reigns. So many are the episodes of battles, historical facts, or simple administrative events which record it as a place symbol of the temporal power.
In the first decade of 19th century the Castle and the chapel, turned also in a powder magazine, were used by the English garrisons during the war against the French troops of Murat. The damages caused by these war events were important but not irreparable, so that writer Gregorovius , fifty years later found the Castle: " in a good state of conservation with embattled walls and towers ". In 1912, instead, of the Castle and the chapel there remained few ruined walls that were purchased by Società Fondiaria Capri and, through successive transfers, they passed at first to baron Alberto Fassini of SIA and then, in 1950, to Duke Roberto Caracciolo from San Vito, councillor of the Embassy of Italy in Paris. This last one, in the book "L'occhialino del re(the lorgnette of the king)", mentions the episode like this: " I had had the fortune of purchasing a large part of the hill overlooking the centre of the Island at a paltry price. Fifty thousand square meters of land and above all cliffs.. I was also lucky to succeed, in comparatively short times, in carrying out a wide plan of parcelling out on the purchased lands. restoring the ancient walls of the castle and building in its inside, a house high up above the sea".
The restoration work of the Castle was entrusted to engineer Roberto Adiolfi who rebuilt it freely in the current form, using it as a private residence. Castiglione Villa , after belonging to different owners, today belongs to four brothers of Italian-American origin.