Capri Island Certosa di San Giacomo

Dating back to 1371, the San Giacomo Charterhouse sits in the valley called Sama or Lama, on the southern side of the island, on land donated by Queen Giovanna 1st of Angiò to Count Giacomo Arcucci who built the edifice dedicated to San Giacomo there.

Thanks to the work of the Carthusian Monks, the Charterhouse of St Giacomo acquired great economic power in the sixteenth century. The building was used as a prison and military arsenal before being handed over to the Ministry of Culture in 1936 under whose patronage a Town Library and an High School were created within the walls of the Charterhouse.

The building also houses a museum where works of the painter Diefenbach are displayed and a number of archaeological exhibits including the two statues found in the Blue Grotto. On the site there is also a small church, a large cloister surrounded by the 12 cells of the Carthusian monks and a smaller cloister.