The island of Capri in the Gulf of Naples

If there is one thing in the Gulf of Naples that can win over Mount Vesuvius the first impression of the traveler, it certainly is the sight of the island of Capri. Seen from the pier or the royal garden, the island looks like a colossal woman wrapped in a shroud.
One usually embarks from the shore of Sorrento, near the house of Torquato Tasso, in a six-oared rowboat. After a crossing of about an hour and a half, it lands at the north end of Capri, on a small sandy beach formed by two high promontories, one of which is surmounted by a small hermitage, held in great reverence among the fishermen of Capri and Sorrento. A sort of staircase cut into the cliff is the only way that leads to the interior of the island, through the town of Anacapri, which occupies a key position. The inhabitants have no other way to go to the valley to draw water, and they walk this distance every day. The guide never misses the opportunity to point out this detail to the traveler, who seldom fails to complain about the steepness of the stairs.
 
Extract from Le magasin pittoresque, 1837.