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www.speleophilately.com
Seven years ago when I first mentioned this stamp in this
publication (n. 53) I had no real idea what caves could be seen on it.
Last September 2004 on a visit to Capri with my wife I was able to rent a
boat at Porto di Tragara on the isthmus between the mainland and the
land-based Faraglione Rock. On the stamp this harbor would be located just
around the headland in the distance.
First we went north along the
east coast to visit the Grotta Mervigliosa (Marvelous Cave), which is
reached by stone stairs cut into the cliff. Originally climbed and
explored in 1900, this once beautiful formation cave has suffered greatly
from barbaric vandals. Next we came south and poked into a 25-meter-long
marine cave, Grotta del Porto di Tragara. Then we headed out and
checked the 56-meter-long Sottopassaggio, a cave tunnel at sea level that
completely traverses the middle Faraglione Rock, which can be seen as the
first of the two dark towers which overlap each other near the right edge
of the stamp. This cave tunnel faces southwest and is not visible from the
island.
From
there our boat again entered and crossed down between the perforations of
this stamp. Before reaching the rocky beach at Fontolina we came to a low
headland and saw waves crashing through the Grotta dell’Arco della Stella
(Star Arch Cave), a 20-meter-long sea arch whose west opening can be seen
in my photo below (No. 1), but only just barely as a tiny spot on the
stamp. You will need a very powerful stamp lope to see
it.
The stamp engraving is based on a photo taken from the
castle ruins on top of the Castiglione Hill. Looking at this view and
proceeding from foreground to background, one can see the Augustus Gardens
panoramic overlook, the Certosa Monastery & cloister, the Tuoro Hill
(261m), and the three Faraglione Rocks.
As we continued in the boat
further northwest along the coast we past the Grotta della Forca protected
in an inlet by jagged rocks. Then we came to the raised karren terrace
which when seen from the cliffs above seems fairly feasible for a landing
but when seen close up in a small rowboat with an outboard motor becomes
quite another matter. The rough limestone has been eroded into numerous
razor-sharp cusps and the sea would have to be very calm to allow a
landing here. Across this terrace and clearly beckoning is the large
entrance to the Grotta del Belvedere (Overlook Cave) (No. 2) with another
narrow entrance to the right. Kyrle implies that these are relict caves
and that the two entrances were once linked. He says that the “southern
part” is narrow and oblique in profile whereas the “northern part” is flat
in ground plan, low and wide in profile. At the end of these cave segments
one finds entire evenly piled layers of deposited clay and earthy refill,
which in places are interspersed with layers of volcanic ash. Doubtlessly
a complete karst cave with fresh water clastic sediments became torn apart
by the surf. (Kyrle, ca.1947) On the stamp the large wide entrance is
barely visible as a tiny dark spot to the left of the cliff shadow behind
the karren terrace.
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Grotte de
Belvedere
Showing rugged karren
platform
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Grotta dei Marinai & Grotte del
Belvedere
Viewed from the garden of
the Certosa Monastery |
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Next we came to the sea entrance of the Grotta Albergo dei Marinai
(or simply Grotta dei Marinai). In my first article I misplace this cave
indicating it to be where the Belvedere Cave is located. As with the
Fontolina Sea Arch (Grotta dell’Arco della Stella) and the Belvedere Cave,
the entrances of this Fisherman’s Cave can be barely made out on the
stamp. The back entrance is at the left end of the dark band on the
lithograph, which runs along the bottom edge of the karren platform, but
the front entrance blends in with this dark band.
In the past
fishermen sought out this cave as a refuge during storms. About 20 meters
long, it can be easily entered with a small boat and traversed to the back
end where a second, low sea entrance lets in the daylight. This concluded
our little philatelic sea journey on the wondrous isle of Capri, where
once again stamps lured me to a fascinating corner of our
planet.
Reference
Ref: Kyrle, Georg ca.1947, Die Höhlen der Insel Capri,
Wissenschaftliche Beihefte zur
Zeitschrift “Die Höhle”, n. 1, Vienna,
p.13
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