Houses in Capri

Leighton first visited the island of Capri in 1859. He delighted in painting the local architecture with its jumble of humble, white-washed houses and narrow, angular streets, and the rugged hills at the centre of the island which tower over the buildings. However, it is possible that the site depicted here is not Capri. An inscription on the edging paper reads: 'Matera (Poulu)'. The inland town of Matera is a provincial capital in Southern Italy. It is not known whether Leighton visited the town, but he did travel in Southern Italy in the spring and summer of 1859.