
A reference point for the mundane life of Capri, Piazza Umberto I, the celebrated "piazzetta", is a contained 'courtyard', the 'sitting-room' of the isle. A meeting place for intellectuals, artists, directors, and famous people, giving onto the square are the Clock Tower, the Town Hall in the ex-bishop's palace and many cafés. Incorporated into the ancient centre dating back to the fifth or sixth century BC, the square is open on one side to the flight of steps that lead to the church of Santo Stefano - rebuilt at the end of the seventeenth century on the ruins of a previous building - inside there is a fine polychrome marble floor from the Villa Jovis and a precious late sixteenth-century painting on wood depicting the Virgin and Child and Saints Michael and Anthony of Padua. On the right hand side of the church stands the Cerio Palace, reconstruction of Queen Joan of Anjou's fourteenth-century castle, where the Caprense Centre currently has its headquarters, with its interesting collection of writings, documents, and texts concerning the isle of Capri. The centre is open from Monday to Friday from 10.00 to 12.00.