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What would you give for a glimpse of Paradise? On the island of Capri you’ll find more than that. Welcome to heaven on earth, the beautiful church of San Michele Arcangelo.
The masterpiece of this small baroque church is not hung on the walls or painted on the ceiling. It’s the floor itself, where in 1761 master majolica (ceramic tile) painter, Leonardo Chiaiese, completed his vision of the Garden of Eden.
Central to the story and Adam and Eve’s banishment is the tree of knowledge, serpent wound sinuously around its trunk, in the middle of the floor. To the right a rueful Adam and Eve seem about to run out of the church door, driven by the Archangel with his flaming sword. The landscape is studded with real and fantasy animals, static witnesses to Man’s ruin.
This floor is so precious that visitors creep around it on discreet duckboards, as if avoiding acqua alta (high water) in Venice. But the best view is always from the gallery, a lordlike position from which to survey Creation.
– Written by Penny Ewles-Bergeron (see bio), writer, artist, … finding the many good things in Naples.
All I can say is “WOW!!!”
I am sorry our tour guide did not mention this TREASURE when we were
touring Capri. Would have love to have seen it.
It looks like fine tapestry…
Worth the trip to Capri and up to Anacapri to see this
This is absolutely beautiful! Hope to get to see it in person some day soon.
Just magnificent! Awesome
I was lucky enough to see this when I visited Capri. An Italian history teacher alerted it to me and told me it was not to be missed. It is amazing, and even more amazing to think how the tiles were transported and assembled there. If I’m not mistaken the tiles were made in Naples and carried to Anacapri.