The stacks are a hallmark of the magnificent island of Capri. Located to the south-east of it, they are characteristic rocky peaks that can only be reached by boat. Their particular shape and the legends that hover around them make them magical and evocative places.
The origin of the name
The term faraglione derives from the Greek “pharos”, which means Lighthouse. The reason lies in the fact that in a distant time, to signal the presence of the stacks to the ships, fires were lit on the rocks near the coast and on the mountains during the night. Although the stacks of Capri are the best known, there are others scattered along the coasts of the Mediterranean: in Sicily, Pantelleria, the Aeolian Islands, Puglia and the island of Giglio.
Di Terra, di Mezzo, di Fuori and Monacone
There are four stacks of Capri, even if three of them are bigger and more famous than the last one. The highest of all is the stack of Earth, 109 meters high. It is so called because it is the only one to be joined to the mainland, but it is also called Lightning. The second, smaller, called middle or Stella, has a central cavity 60 meters long, and is the one preferred by tourists. Its name is probably to be attributed to the Madonna della Libera or Stella del Mare ("Stella Maris"), which is venerated in Capri in a fourteenth-century chapel, erected on Mount Castiglione.
The third, 104 meters high, is the faraglione outside, or Scopolo (promontory on the sea), on which lives the famous blue lizard, the podarcis sicula coerulea, which has acquired this color by blending in with the sea and the sky. Not far from these three, there is the lesser known stack, called lo rock of Monacone because, until 1904, it housed the monk seal. Here there are remains of Roman masonry, attributed to those of the tomb of the architect of Augustus.
Mythical places
These fascinating places have stimulated the imagination of poets and writers of all times. Homer, in the Odyssey, describes the stacks as the boulders that the Cyclops Polyphemus threw at Ulysses. In the Aeneid, however, Virgil speaks of it as the meeting place of the siren. From these imposing rocks came their sweet song that enchanted the sailors.
How to reach the Faraglioni of Capri
One of the favorite itineraries for tourists who come to Capri is the one that leads from the famous Piazzetta to the panoramic points from which the stacks can be admired in all their majesty. They are i Gardens of Augustus, Marina Piccola, Mount Solaro, which is the highest point on the island. To be able to observe these suggestive rocks up close, it is necessary to rent a boat.
It starts from the port of Marina Piccola, with special boats used to transport tourists, but also along a path from the Belvedere of Tragara. At the foot of the stacks are the bathing establishments with the restaurants "La Fontelina" and "Da Luigi", where vacationers can stop for lunch or dinner, and enjoy the breathtaking spectacle that the panorama offers. Couples in love, then, cannot fail to cross the cave of the Faraglione di Mezzo by boat. Here, according to tradition, it is a must to exchange a lucky kiss.
