Wender·Vista
Blue Grotto
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileItaly
on the north coast of Capri, off the Bay of Naples

Blue Grotto

— — the colour the sea keeps for itself.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A sea cave on the north shore of Capri, entered through a mouth barely a metre high. Inside, sunlight enters through a second opening below the waterline and rises through the water; the chamber fills with a blue lit from underneath. Rowboats take a few minutes; visitors lie flat to clear the entrance. Roman emperors knew it, and a marble statue of a sea god was found on the floor.

from the studio
Blue Grotto
— bring it home

Blue Grotto, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Blue Grotto

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Grotta Azzurra is a sea cave on the northwest coast of Capri, an island off the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern edge of the Bay of Naples. The chamber runs about 50 metres long and 15 metres wide, with a vault some 7 metres above the water. The entrance is just over a metre high and closes in even a moderate swell. The island sits roughly 5 kilometres from Punta Campanella and reaches 589 metres at Monte Solaro above Anacapri.

— informed by Wikipedia
— the light

The light is the whole event. A second underwater opening below the visible entrance lets sunlight enter at depth; the long path through seawater filters out the warmer wavelengths, and the chamber fills with a blue that seems to come from below the boat. The effect peaks late morning when the sun is high enough to reach the underwater arch. Objects in the water glow silver, and Roman swimmers reportedly carved bathing niches in the rock walls.

— informed by Britannica: Blue Grotto
— the visit

Boats run from Marina Grande on Capri and from the road-end above the cave in Anacapri, transferring at a queue of rowboats outside the entrance. Entry costs roughly 18 euros plus a rower's tip; the cave closes in any sea state above a mild swell, which can be most of winter. Mornings between 10 and 1 carry the strongest light. The chamber is small enough that boats enter one at a time, with passengers lying flat under the rock.

— informed by Capri Tourism
— where
Italy · Anacapri, Capri, Campania
— elevation
0 m · 0 ft
— position
40.5605° N · 14.2031° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
2 km S
Anacapri
hill town
3 km S
Monte Solaro
summit
3 km E
Marina Grande
harbour
5 km SE
Faraglioni
sea stacks
5 km E
Villa Jovis
Roman ruin
N
Blue Grotto
Anacapri
Monte Solaro
Marina Grande
Faraglioni
Villa Jovis
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Blue Grotto — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

On the northwest coast of Capri, an island off the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern edge of the Bay of Naples. The cave is reached only by sea.

A second opening below the waterline lets sunlight enter through several metres of seawater. The water filters out the warmer wavelengths, leaving the chamber lit a deep, even blue from below.

The chamber runs about 50 metres long and 15 metres wide, with a vault roughly 7 metres above the water. The entrance is just over a metre high.

Late morning between 10 and 1, when the sun is high enough to reach the underwater arch. The cave closes in even a moderate swell, often through winter.

Yes. The emperor Tiberius used Capri as a residence; a marble statue of a sea god and bathing niches inside the cave point to imperial use as a nymphaeum.

Visitors transfer from a tour boat to a small rowboat outside the entrance, lie flat in the bottom, and a rower pulls them under the metre-high mouth on a chain set in rock.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for anyone who has taken the rowboat in. The Small and Medium read as the chamber's underlit blue; the Keepsake works as a desk anchor for a trip remembered.

The deep blue lifts coastal-modern rooms, Mediterranean interiors, and jewel-tone maximalist walls. It also reads well in a quiet study with limewashed plaster or pale linen.

Yes. Mediterranean blues are a stable anchor in coastal-modern and Italianate rooms, paired with travertine, raw linen, and oiled walnut.

A single Large reads as one window onto the cave. For a wider wall, a 4-tile Mural lets the chamber open; a 9-tile Mural carries a long entry hall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and made for vertical installations exposed to steam and splash.

A soft microfibre cloth with water is enough. The colour lives in the surface beneath a thin clear finish; no polish, no ceramic cleaner needed.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made in our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. The art is not licensed or sourced; the eye is Reid's.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
— a collection

The Italian Dolomites,
painted slow.

The valleys between Cortina and Val Gardena, the tarns you walk an hour to see, the towers that turn the colour of a banked fire just before dark. Wander the collection by valley, by season, or follow the path Reid walked.

Tre Cime
Braies
Misurina
Sorapis
Cinque Torri
Sassolungo
Marmolada