The Phoenician Steps (''La Scala Fenicia'') of

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

is a long and steep stone stairway that unites the population center of

with that of

Anacapri Anacapri () is a ''comune'' on the island of Capri, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. Anacapri is located higher on the island than Capri (about higher on average)—the Ancient Greek prefix ''ana-'' meaning "up" or "above". Admini ...

. The stairway was made probably by ancient Greek colonists, however, rather than by

Phoenicians Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syrian coast. They developed a maritime civi ...

. Before the completion of a road, the Steps formed the only means of reaching Anacapri, which is located hundreds of feet above the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

(the prefix ana- in the name of the place comes from

classical Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archa ...

and signifies "above"). The upper terminal of the Phoenician Steps lies near the

Villa San Michele The Villa San Michele was built about the end of the 19th century on the isle of Capri, Italy, by the Swedish physician and author Axel Munthe. Description The villa's gardens have panoramic views of the town of Capri and its harbour, the Sor ...

, which

Axel Munthe Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe (31 October 1857 – 11 February 1949) was a Swedish-born physician and psychiatrist, best known as the author of '' The Story of San Michele'', an autobiographical account of his life and work. He spoke several langua ...

built at Anacapri.

References

{{Coord, 40, 33, 23, N, 14, 13, 41, E, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Buildings and structures in Capri, Campania Stairways