Capri's 10 Must-See Art Galleries Museums

Over the centuries, Capri’s charm and natural beauty has attracted artists and creative minds that not only chose the island as their adopted home, but also played an active role in preserving its natural history and historical artifacts. This is still evident today through the many museums, galleries, and cultural organizations that protect the island’s heritage. Here are ten of the best art galleries and museums you should visit while in Capri.

1. Museum Ignazio Cerio

Museum

Located in the center of Capri, the Museum Ignazio Cerio presents collections across zoology and botany, palaeontology, archaeology, and proto-history. Physician Ignazio Cerio initially founded the space as a family museum to showcase his own geological and archaeological findings, disciplines which fascinated him endlessly. The majority of the objects on display represent the geological history of Capri and have been gathered through various excavations in the island. Also included in the museum are donations and acquisitions from scientists, artists and intellectuals that lived in Capri, such as painters Otto Sohn Rethel and Raffaello Bellini and zoologist Oronzio Gabriele Costa.

2. Museo Diefenbach

Monastery, Museum

Dedicated to the German painter Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach, this eponymous museum has been situated in the renowned Charterhouse of San Giacomo since 1974. The German painter lived in Capri since the beginning of the 20th century; he captured the essence of Capri through his symbolism and predilection for dark, magical landscapes combined with his interest for mythology. The collection at the museum includes 31 canvases, five sculptures, as well as statues depicting sea gods from the Roman era that were found in the Blue Grotto.

3. The White Museum

Museum, Spa

The White Museum is a singular endeavour by Toni Cacace to create an “Art Hotel.” Part of the Capri Palace brand, the museum was born from the idea of creating harmony between everyday life and art. Each room in the hotel is turned into an art studio decorated with paintings, sculptures and artworks that Cacace has acquired over the years from galleries in Milan, London, New York and Paris. Italian artists, such as Plessi, Constantini and Tonelli, also contributed to the realisation of the hotel. In addition to acting as a hotel, the White Museum runs a prolific residency program for artists who, upon receipt of the residency, can work in a gorgeous sea-view atelier. Each artist then creates a work of her own with the common theme of investigating art in relation to the territory in which it is located.