Antico Monastero: the history

The founding of the monastery

The history of the monastery of San Michele in Anacapri is a piece of local history that is intertwined with the international events. It was 1683 when the Turkish army, came up to the very gates of Vienna, began the siege of the capital of the Empire. In Capri, a nun, Mother Serafina di Dio, descended from an ancient family of the island, prayed the archangel St. Michael, promising that if he supported the imperial army defender of Christianity, she would have found a monastery in his honor in Anacapri. On September 12, 1683, the Battle of Kahlenberg saw the final defeat of the Ottomans, so, on October 11 of that year, Mother Serafina came to Anacapri and honored his vow beginning the construction of the Monastery of San Michele.

The Taking of Capri: "il Quartiere"

For nearly two hundred years the monastery of San Michele prospered and expanded. In 1719, also the construction of the church of San Michele is completed. Nowadays the church is a national monument, rightly called "a masterpiece of art" by the works of great artistic value in it, first of all the floor made with "riggiola", a particular type of ceramic tile, depicting the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise, by the Neapolitan master Leonardo Chiaiese, maybe based on drawings of the sculptor Giuseppe Sanmartino.
Until 1808. In that year, the French troops of Joachim Murat broke in Anacapri climbing the cliffs below the Forts Path (Sentiero dei Fortini), then tearing the Island of Capri to the British, that governed it as allies of the Borbone. It was the famous Taking of Capri, also commemorated by an inscription on the Arch of Triumph in Paris. Conquered the island, the great monastery of San Michele in Anacapri was suppressed, requisitioned by the State and converted into military barracks. This event is still so rooted in the historical memory of the town that even today the people of Anacapri define the whole building "il Quartiere" (military quarter).

The rebirth: the "Castello San Michele" of Count Papengouth

Eclipsed the Napoleonic era and restored the Borboni to the throne of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the complex of St. Michael continues to belong to the State, lying in the gradual abandonment. The church itself, reduced to a munitions depot, remains closed to worship, until, in 1818, Ferdinand I donated it to the Brotherhood of the Immaculate Conception, which still takes cares of it.
We will have to wait until the end of the century to see the rest of the building saved from ruin. In 1883, Count Oswald Papengouth buys the whole building from the public domain. Reached Anacapri with his family, and funded by the Baptist Missionary Society, the Count Papengouth transforms the large building in a magnificent hotel which he called Castello San Michele (St. Michael Castle). For the complex, this is the heyday. The Count restructured it completely. Outside, the walls are decorated with sumptuous stucco and all roofs get enriched with battlements; internally, rooms and halls are richly frescoed in Baroque and Pompei style, and are furnished with luxurious furniture. On the arch of the staircase, the Count does affect the auspicious Latin phrase "Hic manebimus Optime" (Here we'll be very good). The intention of the Count is to plant a Baptist mission on the island: in the hotel, in fact, the guests of Papengouth performed the rites of worship Baptist. These stories are told, though in a very romanticized manner, in the nice book of Anacapri's canon Salvatore Farace "La fata della Grotta Azzurra" (The Fairy of the Blue Grotto), and with greater historical accuracy in E. Kawamura, "Alberghi storici dell'isola di Capri" (Historic Hotels of Capri Island) and in T. Fiorani, "L'eretico di Anacapri. Storia e leggenda del Conte Papengouth" (The heretic of Anacapri. History and legend of Count Papengouth).

Today

Unfortunately, the enormous expenses incurred for the restoration and maintenance of the complex are not compensated by adequate earnings. Count Pepengouth sells an for a few years the building continues to operate as a pension. Then, at the beginning of the '900 it is auctioned and divided into several lots purchased by the lords of the town.
Our family bought some of the most representative parts: the coretto, the ancient choir, wonderfully included into the perimeter of the church of San Michele, a portion of the cloister and the study of the abbess; upstairs, a part of the main corridor, the reception hall and some of the former cells of the nuns, overlooking the sunny terrace. During the last restoration work, partly preserved frescoed ceilings came to light, covered by white plaster. We hope in the future to be able to proceed with a recovery of this hidden treasure.
For the moment, then as now the motto that the Count Papengouth wanted on the staircase gives you its welcome:

HERE YOU'LL BE VERY GOOD!