One of the most frequent questions that tourists ask when they have the opportunity to have a friendly chat with an islander is: “What do Capri people do in winter?”. It is difficult to give an exhaustive answer to such a question in a few words… Given the heterogeneity of the population, it requires a broad, multifaceted, anthropological and sociological analysis!
Therefore, we will offer here some examples of typical Capri profiles in what are the most common winter passions and occupations, we will also try to explain the reasons for these shared behaviors.
The Thailanders
Destroyed by the very heavy summer months in which they work as slaves and have very little time to enjoy the sea, many islanders (with peaks that sometimes reach a thousand), emigrate to Thailand, in particular to Phuket, the magnificent Capri colony of Asia.
If initially it was a destination mainly intended for single males in search of pussy and fun, over time it has become the favorite destination of many families who, in addition to appreciating the climate and the tourist offer of the place, feel reassured by the dense and organized network of fellow villagers you can count on for any eventuality.
There are fellow citizens who quietly spend three / four months every year in Thailand (according to them, they save), and have continued undaunted for over a decade!
They are the real Thailanders!
The Canaries
If Thailand is a distant and more suitable destination for those who have a lot of free time and tolerate exotic destinations well, the Canaries are a softer version of a holiday, adored by an equally powerful number of Capri families.
The appointment is in Anfi Beach, Gran Canaria. The beach is very large but for some reason the bulk of the inhabitants of Capri are almost always gathered in the same corner to make a communion.
The most popular topic of discussion is how much better you are physically in that land without humidity.
The real Canaries go to the Canaries, with a certain constancy, for at least 25 years, they have bought apartments or timeshares and have good advice for all the fellow villagers who come for the first time in that land of idleness and absence of pain in the bones.
The hardened fishermen
By now the people of Capri have no longer lived off fishing for decades, but fathers and grandfathers who were expert fishermen have well handed down the bulk of their knowledge to the youngest. Therefore fishing is still deeply rooted in the island’s know-how. And many people from Capri have a real addiction to it.
The hardened fishermen already begin in September, when they can, to get off work a little earlier to get ready to go to squid at night. Towards the end of the month, it’s time for the tuna to make “boccacci” in oil. They continue like this for the whole of October, then from the beginning of November, we also finish working and then the head can focus only on fishing!
From the boat or from the rocks, with white breams or squid, with rods or coffees, they must absolutely catch something, there are no saints or madonnas!
Trekkers… and speleologists
Among the many features that make Capri a better place than the others, there is the exorbitant number of nature trails that can be followed. Going up to the mountain and down to the sea, little changes for the Caprese trekkers, who love them indifferently all from the simplest to the most mangy. The colors and scents that are captured on beautiful winter days truly give unique sensations. In this nature, even if caged by the sea, the trekker finds his freedom.
But there is a higher step: the speleologist. Between marine and terrestrial, in Capri there are over two hundred caves.
Just like the inveterate womanizer, (which is instead a case of Caprese in the summer version), the Capri speleologist must always find a new hole in which to enter, even better if he does it before the others. For this reason and out of curiosity, he often climbs up to very safe places, places where it would not be impossible to slip into a ravine or be hit by a stone that suddenly detached from the fragile mountain. Yet the ancestral call of the caves is as powerful and captivating as the siren song.
Commuters
Obviously not all Capri people are involved in tourism and not everyone works in Capri. And just as many workers arrive from the mainland every winter morning, many people from Capri leave to go to work or study on the mainland.
These are professors, doctors, various professionals, lawyers who go to court, high school or university students…
The appointment is on the 6.50 am hydrofoil for Naples. The return is differentiated, but above all not guaranteed. It seems that in winter, in addition to frequent bad weather, every excuse becomes a good one to suppress the departures of ships and hydrofoils. The commuter prays every day to be able to return home in the evening, or over time he has learned to always have, in some way, a support on the mainland.
There is also a certain comradely solidarity among commuters… They get their social revenge in the height of summer, when the vast majority of fellow villagers are in complete exhaustion from work, and they enjoy their holidays in Capri!
Beached them
Thanks to the climatic changes that over the years have made the winter climate increasingly mild, the amount of Capri people who bathe in winter increases year after year. The favorite place is Marina Piccola, which facing south and protected by the mountain from the north breezes is the hottest area of the island, as well as the most beautiful. Perfect even just to go sunbathing, to take the children to play, with the possibility of doing public relations as well as being alone in peace. A topic of conversation typical of Capri’s winter beachers is: how much the colors and reflections of the sea of Capri have nothing to envy to the most beautiful seas in the world.
The fravecatori
Between the 60s and 90s, there was a massive building speculation in Capri that led to the construction of many properties. Among other things, the tourist season lasted a few months, so it was common to have a double job. And the bricklayer was in fact one of the most requested skilled workers on the market.
So many people from Capri have had to deal with “the art of fraveca”, assimilating good skills in construction and in the do-it-yourself.
In a widespread Capri mentality, knowing how to use “the spoon” is considered an essential quality to be considered real men. The ancient saying says that: “whoever fraveca and sfraveca nun never loses tiempo”. And many islanders spend the winter fixing their properties themselves, arranging and redoing them. For many Capri people the noise of the concrete mixer is music, going out with dirty work clothes: a boast, returning home tired: an injection of testosterone.
However, it must be noted that the new generations do not seem as accustomed to the fraveca as the old ones, also because in modern times the long summer season makes it less attractive to take a second job.
There are also widespread even if less typified categories, such as gasoline consumers (who move only and exclusively by car); the tragarists (who at least once a day take “a tub” in Tragara); the chiazzari who place the piazzetta of Capri at the center not only of the town but also of their existence (divided in turn into bar or bell-shaped chiazzari).
What all the Capri people really seem to have in winter is that in this season they perceive the territory of the island as an extension of their home.
It is not a city, it is a condominium!
