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Capri's Blue Grotto Turns 200: The Anniversary Exhibition at Certosa di San Giacomo
Il mito di Capri runs through 18 October 2026, marking two centuries since a German painter rowed into the grotto and made it famous across Europe.
Why is the Blue Grotto's 200th anniversary being celebrated in August 2026?
On 17 August 1826, the German poet and painter August Kopisch, together with fellow painter Ernst Fries, was rowed into a sea cave on Capri's northern coast by a local boatman, Angelo Ferraro. Locals already knew the cave existed, but Kopisch's account of the eerie blue light inside — and his published writings afterward — is what carried the Grotta Azzurra into Europe's imagination and set off a wave of Grand Tour visits to the island. Two centuries on, the anniversary falls squarely in this year's high season, giving visitors a reason to treat the grotto as more than a five-minute rowboat photo stop.
What's in the Il mito di Capri exhibition?
Il mito di Capri. A duecento anni dalla scoperta della Grotta Azzurra (1826–2026), curated by Massimo Osanna and Luca Di Franco, opened 3 July 2026 at the Certosa di San Giacomo and runs through 18 October. It traces how Capri went from a barely accessible outpost of the Kingdom of Naples to one of Europe's most romanticized destinations, using period paintings, drawings, books and archaeological pieces tied to the island's rediscovery by 19th-century artists and travelers.
The show sits inside the Certosa itself — a 14th-century Carthusian monastery that's an attraction in its own right, with cloisters and gardens looking out over the sea toward the Faraglioni — so the exhibition rewards a slower visit rather than a quick pass-through.
How do I visit the Certosa di San Giacomo this summer?
In August the Certosa opens 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30) and is closed on Mondays. Admission — which includes the exhibition — is €4 full price / €2 reduced Tuesday to Thursday, and €6 full price / €4 reduced Friday to Sunday. Tickets can be bought online through CoopCulture or in person; weekend visits require advance booking online or by phone (+39 06 3996 7050 from abroad), since the Certosa's galleries are compact and get busy.
The Certosa sits a short, mostly flat walk from Capri's Piazzetta, past the Giardini di Augusto — an easy add-on to a morning that starts with the Marina Grande funicular, with no separate boat trip required to take in the grotto's anniversary story.
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The legendary Tiberian island — Faraglioni sea stacks, the Blue Grotto, and a Piazzetta where the day's gossip has stayed the same since the 1950s.
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