Blue Grotto (Capri)
The Blue Grotto (Italian: Grotta Azzurra ) is a cave in the northwest of the island of Capri , the entrance to which is a rock hole in the sea that is only 1.5 meters high.
The cave is about 52 meters long and 30 meters wide and the water in it is about 15 meters deep. Since the daylight reaches the grotto mainly reflected below sea level in the sea water, the water inside the cave shimmers in a peculiar blue color. There are photos, especially on postcards, on which the ceiling of the cave is completely blue. In practice, however, this cannot happen; here one has used additional spotlights or post-processed with image editing programs. The rediscovery of the grotto , which was already used as a nymphaeum in antiquity , in 1826 by the German poet August Kopisch triggered an uninterrupted stream of tourists to the island in the Gulf of Naples .
When brought in with larger boats, the tourists have to change to small boats with 4 to 10 people in order to get inside the grotto through the narrow driveway. The crowd is sometimes so great that there are long waiting times in front of the entrance. Similar to the gondoliers in Venice, many locals earn their living by steering the grotto boats.
Visitors should note that due to the low entrance, large waves make the grotto inaccessible. The grotto will be closed in heavy seas.
It is forbidden to swim in the Blue Grotto, the Italian authorities impose a heavy fine if this is done anyway.
The grotto was already known in antiquity, but was then forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1826. In 2009 the grotto was briefly closed because dirty water was illegally discharged into the grotto.
literature
- August Kopisch: The discovery of the blue grotto on the island of Capri . Edited by Dieter Richter . Berlin: Wagenbach, 1997.
- Dieter Richter : The island of Capri. A portrait. Wagenbach, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-8031-2795-2 , p. 75-86 .
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 40 ° 33 ′ 38 ″ N , 14 ° 12 ′ 17 ″ E