On the outermost peak of the rocky formations southeast of Capri lives an exclusive resident: the Podarcis siculus coeruleus, a blue lizard that evolved its azure coloration for camouflage after being isolated from the mainland. The Faraglioni themselves owe their striking geology to a collapsed subterranean cave system. Karstic waters initially eroded the rock 15 meters below current sea levels, before coastal deterioration, marine abrasion, and atmospheric pressure shattered the overhead vaults. Their name traces back to the Greek word faros (lighthouse); during antiquity, large fires were lit atop these coastal crags at night to guide navigators and warn them of obstacles in the Gulf of Naples.
What to see
The group consists of three main spires and a fourth rock behind them. Closest to the shore is the Faraglione di Terra, also known as Stella. Connected to the island by a narrow four-meter isthmus, it is the tallest at 109 meters. Its southwestern flank features the "small Blue Grotto," a fracture cave where underwater light filters through a submerged threshold into intense green-blue waters. Next is the Faraglione di Mezzo (82 meters), defined by its famous natural archway—a tunnel measuring 58 meters long and 13 meters high that pierces straight through the rock. The outermost promontory, the 106-meter Faraglione di Fuori (or Scopolo), is separated from the middle rock by an eight-meter-wide, 60-meter-long channel known as "Saetta." This is the sole habitat of the aforementioned blue lizard, whose dark-backed, blue-bellied appearance differs completely from its mainland relatives.
Behind these three lies the Scoglio del Monacone, named after the monk seals ("bovi marini") that lived there until the last one was killed near Palazzo a Mare in 1904. It holds Roman masonry ruins, historically debated as either the tomb of Augustus's architect Masgaba, fish-salting vats, or a rabbit breeding enclosure—whose population, according to writer Norman Douglas, was eventually eradicated by a plague.
Visiting
The spires are observed from the sea and from elevated vantage points like the Gardens of Augustus, Via Krupp, and Villa Monacone. During the 19th and 20th centuries, as Capri's tourism expanded, the rocks became recognized as natural monuments. They were painted by artists such as Joseph Rebell, Johan Christian Dahl, Albert Bierstadt, Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach, and William Stanley Haseltine. Early cinema pioneer Étienne-Jules Marey captured them using chronophotography in his short footage Vague, baie de Naples. Later, they appeared in classic Italian cinema, notably in the 1949 film The Emperor of Capri starring Totò, and the comedy Il secondo tragico Fantozzi, where actor Paolo Villaggio famously water-skis straight into the rock, triggering a comic earthquake that reaches the town's Piazzetta.
Our editors' tip
Do not confuse the local terminology when navigating or looking at maps: the name "Saetta" is frequently, yet incorrectly, applied to the central rock (Faraglione di Mezzo), when it specifically refers to the narrow 60-meter stretch of water dividing it from the outermost peak.