The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-06-15

I to the Sato Tiberio and to the summit l of Monte SolaEo preceded by juvenile | amateur tarantella dancers all along
 the route. Every lite dark-eyed fan ! ciullo seems expert on the light fantas-
 tic toe. But the special exhibits of skill in she Terpsichorean art are reserved
 for the festival seasons.
 When the great Festa di San Costan-
 20 comes round on May IA the islanders 1 are ready for wild carnival. The wonderful celebration lasts for three days, commencing on the evening of May 2, 3. There is nothing at all like it
 in all the rest of Italy. The sandwich l ing of the most solemn and impressive processionals, masses and performances ] of sacred. orchestral and choral music l between the gayest extravaganzas 1 strikes the visitor as proof of the un-
 limited versatility of the happy Capri otes. They are a simple, jouous and at ! the same time profoundly superstitious race. And there are more of them than the thousands of tourists who merely touch at the little Marina for three hours, to visit the superb "Grotta
  | tie plateau of Anacapri, perched on the 1 highest crags of the mountain islet, dwell two thousand people, hidden from i the lower world in their vineclad cot tages, with no way down from the | height excepting by the road of two | miles, most of which was blasted out of the perpendicular cliffs against whose 1 feet the pillows dash. The famous old rock-stairs are superseded by this 1 splendid bit Of modern engineering. Anacapri stays for the most part up
 at home. Capri, the quaint little capi-
 tai of the island, is the head-center of
 the great festivities of its own favorite patron saint. San Cos:anzo, or St. Constantius, who had the blood of em- perors in his veins, was a seventh cen- tury Bishop of Constantinople, who
 managed in some way to give nmbrage to the secular powers, He was flung into the Bosphorus in a strong wooden ask AS he was predestined to work wonderful miracles, even by his bones after his death, he was himself the sub- ject of supernatural preservation, for he was tossed up on the Marina of Ca pri and when reeased was Bound to be safe and sound, needing only to be well dried after his unparalleled voyage.
 That is the legend concerning the man
 of whom the only relics are fragment of spine and knee-cap. But, accord ing to Capriote credulity, these pre- cious fragments have sufficed for mar vels of thaumaturgy, for they are repu- ted to have secured immunity from an invasion of the Saracens, the saint stir ring up fearful tempest against them, and many cripples are declared to have
 been cured after venerating the infini- | tesimal remains and paying homage to the image of San Costanzo in his little church.
 l Magnificent sunsets in the month of | May set the Bay of Naples glowing with opalescent reflections and illumine 1 the Qrags above the little city of Capri
 in preparation for the grotesque pyro- technic display which inaugurates the fiesta The quaint little Cathedral of Capri is lit up with immense numbers
 of tapers, and the worshippers at yes pers hurry out as soon as the service is
 over, after lowing before the image of
 
 been brought from his own church for the occasion. In tke streets every
 house is decorated with scores of col
 ored lamps, and the lurid sunset hardly
 subsidies in shadows before the illumi-
 nation of the town is complete.
 | The most singular item in the fire
 work display of the evening is the
 burning of an effigy of the saint in the l Piazza. There seems to be something inexplicably inconsistent in treating the l padrone santo as if he were some Guy i F'awkes or Judas Iscariot: but the
 mrthful Capriotes are not a logical set,
 and expect the saint to supply them | with the maximum of fun as well as sanctity. The effigy is filled with fire works and is mounted on a miniature turret of squibs. The effect of the ere mation is indiscribably comical. The | burning torso executes d sort of crude | tarantella on it's own account as it eX- | plodes first in one part of it's cracker | packed frame and then in another. To | the delight of the populace, the mock l prelate executes the most extraordina-
 ry antics, while he spouts forth flame
  | ing the hilarious commotion every mo-
 ment, until, with terrific final out
 burst, the whole fabris is hurled up as though miniature volcano had sprung | up in the midst of the Piazza.
 The city orchestra--for little Capri is
 proud oe it's own town band-has al-
 ready been in evidence in the cathedral, l but 1t now gives the signal for all the l lively movements of the evening. All
 round the Piazza and in the few little streets that lead out of it to the moun- tain sides, are booths piled with toys, confections, pictures and images of the saint, and various refreshments. The
 pretty contadine-those dark half-Mau-
 resque looking peasant girls of the
 mountain vineyards who are the best tarantella dancers-are treated by their inamoratos to the draughts of the deli cious gazzoza beverages, beloved alike by the Neapolitans and the Capriotes, such as limonata, aranciata, sorbetto, or granita.
 The great day of the fiesta is an- nounced to the citizens and the visitors,
 many of whom resort to Capri from Sorrento, Salerno. Amalf, Ravello, Castellamare and Naples for the occa- sion, by the ear-splitting crashes of bombas early in the bright morning. As many people as can crowd into the