The Church and Hermitage of Santa Maria di Cetrella is placed on the rocky slope of Mount Solaro facing Capri, straight over the bay of Marina Piccola. It is reachable on foot from the center of Anacapri through a long climb (the path starts from Capodimonte street, near the Villa of San Michele by Axel Munthe) or through a short descent from the top of Monte Solaro, where there is small tourist resort connected to the center of Anacapri by a chairlift. It is reachable also through a path between the wood and the cliffs called "Passetiello" (small passage) that starts from Capri, at Torina Street (near place called "Due Golfi"), clambering along the mountain. For the difficulty of the walk and for the current bad conditions of the path it is not advisable to take it without the aid of an expert local guide.

The Passetiello was also the route covered by fishermen families of Marina Piccola when they went on pilgrimage to Cetrella to propitiate the success of travels and a safe return. For its position, overhanging the cove below, Santa Maria of Cetrella appeared the natural patroness of the bay, also because from there they could watch the open sea up to the horizon and sight boats returning. All along the Middle Ages, Mediterranean sea had been infested by Saracen pirates and many journeys ended tragically with the death or deportation of captured fishermen and sailors.

The name of this area, according some scholars, comes from an aromatic herb called "cedrina". This provenance would give to the church a rustic and spontaneous dimension, closely tied to the popular devotion. Some others assert thet here was a small roman temple dedicated to Venus Citerea, whose cult was followed all around the Gulf, as proved by many place names "Citara". There are no archaeological remains supporting this theory, even if we should consider that generally medieval churches were built over preexisting pagan temples, using existing material.  [ More...]