Monte Solaro above Anacapri

From Anacapri a single-seat chairlift runs up the flank of Monte Solaro in about twelve minutes, dangling you over gardens, vineyards and rooftops the whole way. The ride itself is a location: feet above the terraces, nobody else in frame, and the island falling away behind.

The summit is a broad, rough terrace with a ruined chapel and a scatter of benches. From it you see the entire island at once — the Faraglioni to the south-east, Marina Grande and the Gulf of Naples to the north, Ischia to the west and, on clear days, the mountains of Calabria. It is the widest view in the region and it needs a wide lens and figures for scale rather than a portrait treatment.

The practicalities decide the shoot. The chairlift has fixed hours that end in the late afternoon and close earlier in winter, so sunset from the top is generally not available; check the last ride down. It stops entirely in high wind and in rain. There is no shelter at the summit and it is noticeably colder and windier than the coast — a jacket matters even in June. Chairs carry one person each, so a couple travels separately.