The lighthouse stands on the south-western tip of Capri, on the rocks, three kilometres from Anacapri. It was designed by Bourbon engineers, but building began in 1862, when the kingdom that had planned it no longer existed, and the light was lit in 1867: a public work drawn by one state and finished by another.
What to see
It is among the largest lighthouses in Italy for size and power: a cylindrical tower above the keepers' house, in the middle of bare rock, with the open sea in front. Around it there is nothing but scrub, coves and the paths going down to the water; the lighthouse comes under the navy's lighthouse command.
The point is one of the wildest places on the island, the exact opposite of the terraces and boutiques of the centre. People come here to swim off the rocks, to walk along the coast and to look at the sea, and the road that reaches it ends with no way on.
Visiting
The lighthouse is three kilometres from Anacapri, reachable by bus or on foot along the road; the building is a military structure and cannot be visited, but the rocks and coves around it are free. Half a day with a swim.
Our editors' tip
Come here in the evening: it is the only point on Capri from which you see the sun set into the sea. The rest of the island faces the wrong way, towards the gulf and the mainland, and that is why the Capriots and the few who know arrive at Punta Carena an hour before dark.