buona giornata!

Much to my delight, Bianca, my aunt's mother who grew up in Anacapri, has been doling out anecdotal history and Italian lessons to me as conversation runs its course. As we ambled back from dinner last night, she explained to me the difference between buona sera and buona serata as well as buon giorno and buona giornata. Essentially, the first two both mean good evening while the latter signify good morning or good day. Adding the suffix -ata, which in the case of good day also changes the gender of the word, adds a more complete meaning to its subject as it allows one to essentially say 'I hope you've had a good evening so far and that the rest of it passes well for you, too'. So since it is about 9a here and Johnny and I have already completed our first hike of the day, to y'all I say buona giornata!


We left Villa la Pietra at about ten till six this morning to meet up with the same folks that had walked us to il Faro earlier in the week to walk up the worn stone steps to Castello Barbarossa. I'd like to put the disclaimer in now that most of what I'll say in this post is what I was able to glean from the schpiel our guides Annarita and Giovanni gave us in Italian at the top of the castle (bearing in mind that I have only been exposed to this language for the past seven days or so and am largely resting on my knowledge of Latin roots and the Spanish language to try to understand).


This castle was built, I believe, was constructed in the 10th century and though it is named for the red-bearded Turkish pirate who didn't construct but rather helped in the destruction of the structure. It is situated on top of the grounds of Axel Munthe's Villa San Michele, but it belongs to the island. They only let people up into it on Thursdays (so anyone planning a trip to Capri, take note) and only with a guide. Other than that, it is now used largely as a point to study birds and their migratory patterns. Some advocate that this castle, from which you can spy Sorrento, Naples, Ischia and Procida, though smaller was much more strategically placed than the Villa Jovis. In its glory days, it was mostly used as a point of fortification rather than a castle for luxury, but it was destroyed in the 15th century during one of the many skirmishes between the Christians and the Ottomans. Apparently (and this is where I think my translation is most hazy), it was also during this time that the divide between Anacapri and Capri became more pronounced as the ensuing battles wreaked havoc not only on the Castello Barbarossa but also on many of the connecting buildings, roads and general structures between the upper and lower parts of the island. That being said, getting up and seeing this historic site so early this morning might be one of my favorite parts of my time here - so serene and with such a view that I had fun picking out the various places in Capri and Anacapri that I've visited in the past week.


Hopefully I'll be back to write you some more later today, my last full day in Capri - on tap we've got a hike to Monte Solaro by way of the chiesa Cetrella today before we head out for a night in Naples tomorrow and the following two in Rome. It is so hard to believe that my European adventure for the summer is coming to a close, but I can't describe how fortunate I feel to be finishing it off in the presence of such wonderful and caring family.