Breakfast in Anacapri with a view: Caffé Casa Oliv, Villa San Michele

Now this is breakfast in a very special location, at the top ot the pine trees, in the midst of lush green Mediterranean trees and macchia and a breath-taking, blue view.

View across the olive groves towards the sea and Ischia

Caffé Casa Oliv - Terrace

What a boon to visited this cafe for breakfast now in early spring, a few days after Easter. It had only just opened, as it is closed until the end of March, for the terrace of the cafe, perched upon the rooftop of Villa San Michele, can be rather windy and breezy in winter (and not only in winter, only that now with summer around the corner, the fresh sea breeze is able to break through the rays of sun).

Breakfast on the roof top, next to palm trees, cedars and pines

Caffé Oliv is located up here ...

The stairs up to the pine trees terrace

From the garden below, you climb the stairs to the top room just above the entrance to the villa, and see the entrance to the Cafe Oliv (which is named after Josef Oliv, friend of Axel Munthe) to your right. And that is what you see when you enter the café - a counter full of Capri sweet specialties:

The counter with the typical Capri sweets: Torta caprese with chocolate, caprilù pastries, torta caprese with lemon (from left to right)

Interior: wooden chairs, cobalt blue tiles, white-washed walls

Sitting back in cosy corners, in an Italian-Swedish coffee house (see both flags at the counter!!).

A refreshing place to unwind, there is also a book shelf where guest can view books on Axel Munthe in general, Villa San Michele and the garden in various languages (they can also buy them)

I immediately noticed both variants of torta caprese - with lemon and chocolate, and of course the small almond pastries called Caprilù. They have been invented (sold) by Pasticceria Buonocore in Capri, and are now also produced by a local bakery up here in Anacapri.

Tea pot on a wooden table, caprilùs and torta caprese al cioccolato

Relaxing morning amongst the pine trees

So this is what we had for breakfast - tea with milk, caprilù and torta caprese. But there is a lot to choose from the menu - see below ...

And of course, the wonderful mild breeze of the sea to the left, beyond the pini d'aleppo trees, which are now "flowering". Finally, it is the view that makes me come here again and again: you can sit on your wooden bench which has been warmed up by the sun, with a view of the sea towards the Sorrento peninsula and Ischia below, and to the right, a few of the Barbarossa mountain, clad in yellow at this time of the year, as the ginestra and euforbia are in full bloom. And a unique scent of the pine trees, palm trees and the evergreen oaks that tower over one part of the roof terrace.