A xel Munthe often reached San Michele by the ancient Phoenician stairway, which for centuries was the only way to get to the town of Anacapri from the harbor. A bird's-eye view of the villa, nestled into the hillside beneath a cheery blanket of broom flowers. A colonnade runs along the side of the hill. M unthe placed his statue of Diana, the huntress, so that she could gaze across the water at the islands of Ischia and Procida, visible beyond the mist.
P ause a moment in the chapel door.
Listen to the breeze playing in the umbrella pines. Along the low wall, flowers grow in planters made of ancient capitals. Munthe brought the trees here from Villa D'Este, in northern Italy. On a night of the full moon, he planted them in two straight rows, and there they flourish today. J ust outside the chapel is a small terrace with a large view of the Bay of Naples.