Beautiful Garden. The House is like a Monastery. Axel Munthe is an interesting philanthropic character - there's some notes about him on the display boards. The views are wonderful - however, on the day I was there, it was heavy cloud and rain. The website is also very interesting and there are some videos you can watch to get the story behind the creation of the Villa.

It's easy to see why Villa San Michele is one of the top attractions on Capri. Located a short flat stroll outside of Anacapri along Via Capodimonte, Axl Munthe’s former home is a treasure. The gardens consisting of hundreds (thousands?) of different types of trees, bushes, shrubs and flowers is spectacular. We went in April and the colours were already an amazing riot of sights and smells. There’s also plenty of shade. The property is fabulous. No wonder Axl Munthe spent almost all of his adult life here. The architecture is beautiful and the views over the sea and of Marina Grande are fabulous. We did all the most recommended things. We saw the head of Medusa, the marble bust of Emperor Tiberius which once adorned the temple dedicated to Venus and Rome, the sacred Medieval art, Tuscan furnishings from the 1700s, Roman frescoes and statues, marble table decorated with Cosmatesque mosaics, Sicilian wrought iron lamp, and best of all the Egyptian sphinx, the symbol of Axel Munthe's residence, who looks out over the sea from his place of honour. It is believed that if you put your left hand on the sphinx, make a wish while looking out over the sea, the wish will come true. Did we put this to the test? Of course we did!

This is absolutely amazing and the only reason I didn’t rate it 5 is I was upset with the guy that we spoke to. We asked him if we could see everything in the 40 min that was left before closing and he said yes. There was a museum before you enter the garden.I believe it takes quite a bit longer than that especially if you like gardens. I felt I had to rush through to see it. I highly recommend that if you love gardens and museums do not go 30 min before it closes. Take at least an hour or more to relax and enjoy . I did express to him that I was disappointed but he didn’t seem to care as he received our money . I was dissatisfied with his attitude but the place was amazing.