Axel Munthe Museum



After five long summers of unceasing work, from dawn to dusk, San Michele was more or less finished, though there was still much to be done in the garden. A new terrace had to be laid behind the house, and another loggia had to be built above the two small Roman rooms that we had discovered in the autumn. The house was small, the rooms were few, but there were loggias, terraces and pergolas all around, from which one could watch the sun, the sea and the clouds: the soul requires more space than the body.

A. MUNTHE, 1929

front cover of book

The construction involved transforming a simple country home and an old chapel dedicated to San Michele and originally built on exquisitely decorated ruins from the Augustan age that demonstrate the presence on that spot of a sumptuous residence.
The style of the imposing structure is very free, set in the middle of a large, well cared-for park. It is owned by the Swedish Munthe Foundation and is open to the public: many of the founder's possessions, including rustic and antique furniture, as well as countless archaeological artefacts, are preserved in a charming atmosphere.

Barbarossa Castle
Probably Capri's largest fortification during the Byzantine age. Sitting at 400 meters above sea level, it was assaulted and conquered in 1535 by the Algerian pirate Kair-ed-Din, whose nickname was given to the fort. It was built with materials taken from Roman constructions; today, apart from a few ruins, all that remains is the central portion of the castle: a number of the rooms are used for a small ornithological research and observation center run by the Swedish foundation bearing the name of A. Munthe.