One of the world’s most beautiful footpath – Via Krupp, is located on the island of Capri, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples. The historic switchback paved footpath connects the Charterhouse of San Giacomo and the Gardens of Augustus area with Marina Piccola.

Built between 1900 and 1902, the path scales a vertical distance of roughly 100 meters by a series of hairpin bends, cut and set into the rock so close together that they appear almost to overlap. Via Krupp has been described as “a road that is itself a work of art” for its elegant switchbacks, arranged in harmony with the cliff-face, where each turn brings a different view, a new perspective, and a visual feast for the eyes.

“The road… moves at a constant slope, and yet those who take it experience no fatigue, either in walking up or down, because they discover at every turn a new sight, a new view of the sky or coast that each step helps renew.” – R. Pane, 1965.

The path was commissioned by German industrialist and steel magnate Friedrich Alfred Krupp, who in the early 20th century, asked engineer Emilio Mayer to design and build it.

Friedrich Alfred Krupp loved the Italian island of Capri, where he resided for several months each year at the Hotel Quisisana. He kept two yachts there, Maya and Puritan, from which he entertained and pursued his hobby of oceanography.

Krupp wanted the path to provide a connection between his luxury hotel and Marina Piccola, where his marine biology research vessel lay at anchor. However, Krupp allegedly used the path to secretly visit Grotta di Fra Felice, a grotto where sex orgies with local youths are supposed to have taken place.

When the scandal surfaced, Krupp was asked to leave Italy in 1902. A week later, Krupp committed suicide.

Between 1976 and 2008, Via Krupp remain closed due to landslide. It was so popular that even when closed tourists would slip under the barriers to see it and large gates had to be erected to keep them away.