The May 2023 issue of Vogue Poland invites us to the island of Capri, nestled in Italy’s Naples Bay. The island draws millions of tourists each year to its beautiful rocky beaches, luxury shops and exquisite cuisine.

Capri is famed for its vibrant sea, which features three prominent rock formations known as Faraglioni that rise out of its surface to worldwide recognition as a backdrop for holiday pictures and postcards around the world.

Renowned landmarks on the idyllic 10.4 square kilometer island include its iconic Grotta Azzurra [Blue Grotto], historic Roman ruins and breathtaking belvederes that have long made this vacation destination appealing to Italians and international visitors. These images are captured throughout the Vogue Poland fashion story.

Italian model Paola Manes travels to Capri for a large fashion story that promotes the less celebrity-prominent areas of the island. London-based fashion directors Ali + Aniko [IG] choose simple, relaxed but feminine warm weather elegance as Paola enjoys a more typical Italian experience on the island.

Photographer Dudi Hansson [IG] captures Capri’s glorious beauty, along with local sites like Capri's Centro Caprense Ignazio Cerio archaelogical museum just steps from Piazzetta./ Hair by Emil Zed

Past excavations at the Hotel Quisisana [where Anne has stayed] brought to light the remains of an Elephas primigenius, a smaller size woolly mammoth that we know roamed Mediterranean islands like Capri, Sardinia, and Sicily.

Scientists aren’t clear yet how the mammoths dealt with the reality of water, as they could not swim. Perhaps the land area was totally dry or connected by patches of dry land discovered by the woolly mammoths, who used them as ‘roadways’. The science is not difinitive.

The Faraglioni rock formations were believed to be home to the Sirens, creatures who were half woman and half bird, which is why Sirens should not be confused with Mermaids. The Grotto of Capri was long avoided based on folkloric history.

Ulysses ordered his sailors to fill their ears with wax when entering Siren-filled waters. Knowing full well the dangers of being lured by the Sirens, Ulysses wanted to hear the their’ beautiful voices. For safety, he tied himself to the ships’ mast, so that he couldn’t attempt to reach the Sirens and a certain death.

Their mythic aura still pervades today as you walk along its grottoes admiring its blue-green waters.

Church influence on historical Capri was strong until it became part of Naples in 1860, and thereafter under royal control. A spiritual atmosphere continues to influence daily life on Capri, although no temporal power is associated with the Catholic Church.

Though Capri is known primarily as a Catholic enclave, other faiths also practiced on the island. Most residents practice Roman Catholicism while there are also Muslims and Jews enjoying daily living on the island of Capri.