ISLAND OF CAPRI

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 667, 20 October 1933, Page 7

ISLAND OF CAPRI

SIGNOR MUSSOLINI ISSUES SPECIAL PROTECTIYE EDICT. BEAUTIFUL MEDITERRANEAN. , r "M^ussolini's edict making the Island of Capri a bird sanctuary assures safety for the first time to thousands of birds. Each spring great numbers of tired birds rest on the slopes of Gapri's mountains before continuing their migratory flight to th& north," says a bulletin of the National Geographical Society. "Autumn hrings. another invasion ' of birds of many species as they stop at Capri before flying the Mediterranean on their way south for the ' winter. For periods of six weeks in each of the two seasons, the natives of the island hitherto covered' the mountain sides with nets stretched on poles. The helpless birds flew into the nets, were seized, packed in boxes, and shipped to Paris for the ' tables of epicures. It was a thriving 'business, and for centuries Capri was the seat of a bishop financed by the sale of the netted birds. In Rome he ' was called 'the Bishop of the Quails.' "The Italian Premier's recent decree is the result of the efforts of Dr. Axel Munthe, Swedish author, ' who waged ia. long fight for the pro- ' tection of the birds On the island. In 'his most noted work, Dr. Munthe describes the natives' method of placing in the bushes live decoy birds whose eyes had been stung out with ' a red-hot needle. The blinded victims produced ceaseless and almost auto- ' matic songs which lured visiting birds to the nets. Cruel Practice. "Blinding birds t0 induce constant singing was practised by the Greeks and Romans, and is still done to-day along the southern shores of Spain and Greece. Only a few birds in a hundred survive th'e operation. "Capri, now dedicated to the living bird, is a twin-humped camel of an island, kneeling in the blue just off the tip of the Sorrento peninsula," writes a correspondent in the New York Times. "Naples is 17 miles across the bay, Sorrento six miles away, and the nearest mainland, three miles disbant. From the bay of the Marina Grande on the northern coast of the island, old Vesuvius is visihle in the distance. Mountainous and not easily accsssible, Capri measures 'about four miles in length', and nearly two miles in width at its broadest ' point. "Beeause of its equable climate and striking natural features Capri attracts some 60,000 visitors annually. From the sway-hacked huddle of white, pink and blue houses along the water front, a breakneck road ascends to the town of Capri. "^Tliiteroofed and Moorish, the houses nestle among the hills. A winding roiad conencts Capri with Atnacapri, the other town of the island, two miles distant. "The Blue Grotto, famed throughout the world for its beauty, is the most frequented spot in Capri-. It is a cavern hollowed out by the waves in prehistoric times; and now, owing ' to the sinking of the coast, half filled ' by the sea. 'The two towns are engaged in pro- ' ducing fruit, olive oil and wines. Fishing is also a pursuit of many of the island's 7500 inhabitants. The High. Commissioner for Naples last year set aside some £65,000 for the con- j struction of a harbour for Capri. Vessels now anchor at a pier when the weather permits. Capri has passed through the hands of several nations in the course of its ' history. iThe Qreeks esttablished themselves in ancient Capreae at an early period, and in th'e fourth century B.C. the island came under the dominion of Naples. It was Augustus ' who first made Capri known. He included it in the imperial domain, and ' gave Neapolitans in its place the large and wealthier island of Ischia. In 1806, during the Napoleonic wars, Capri was eaptured hy the British, fortified, and converted into a miuiature Gibraltar. In 1808, however, the island was recaptured by the French. The British restored it to Ferdinand ' of Sicily in 1815. * "Capri to-day off ers much: to the sightseer, iartist, historian, and geologist. Artists qccupy the centre of the stage in the town of Capri, and overflow to Anacapri, and other points of vantage. On every hand are shaded wallcs, wild backgrounds of tumblcd rock, and thick groves of orange and lemon, laurel and myrtle."