The San Michele Foundation Axel Munthe's best known literary work, The Story of San Michele, created considerable interest in the Villa San Michele. This coincided with Capri's growing popularity as a tourist centre. The villa is now annually visited by about 200,000 people. In his will, Axel Munthe bequeathed San Michele, including the collections, the buildings and the land to the Swedish state. Apparently he saw in the Swedish Institute for Classical Studies in Rome (created by Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf, Queen Victoria's son) the most reliable guarantor to carry through the fruition of his dreams, namely, to maintain the special character of the villa, as well as to promote and foster Sweden's cultural ties with Italy. Against the background of these basic concepts, San Michele is administered by a Foundation whose Board of Directors is the same as that of the Swedish Institute in Rome. It is the objective of the San Michele Foundation to continue to carry out, in the best manner, the donator's ideas. The Foundation has its secretariat in Stockholm. The number of buildings bequeathed by Dr. Munthe was eventually increased through further purchases and donations. At present the complex (1997) covers an area of about 6.5 hectares (approximately 16 acres), of which the buildings take up 1,400 square meters, the cultivated grounds, parks and gardens 6,900 square meters, and the Barbarossa nature reserve 55,700 square meters. Apart from the Villa San Michele, there are four guest houses, one administration building which also houses the Swedish Consulate, the manager's and caretakers' homes, one building for the boiler system including laundry and store rooms, two hot houses and six cisterns for rain water. Additionally, there are the castle ruins on the Barbarossa Mountain where a few rooms have been prepared for those who conduct ornithological research. Eight persons are occupied with the upkeep of the San Michele complex, under the supervision of an administrative manager. The entrance fees to the museum constitute the source of income for the Foundation which is used to defray all costs. The museum complex includes the chapel which is also used as a concert hall. The Foundation annually arranges about twelve evening musical events which are free to the public, where music by Scandinavian composers, amongst others, is played.These concerts have become very popular. For summer concerts is also available a very big terrace with a beautiful view on the bay of Naples. Considerable work is conducted to maintain the beauty and tranquillity of the gardens which have now gained international renown. The grounds are irrigated through an automatic sprinkler system using water from five of San Michele's rain water cisterns. Guest house activities The Foundation has about 70 swedish guests annually who stay for shorter periods of time t;o conduct studies, to write or to undertake intellectual or artistic activities for which the atmosphere at San Michele is especially suited. The accommodations (seven complete apartments with a terrace, kitchen, shower room, and bedroom or sleeping alcove, one two roomed apartment, two separate guest rooms) are situated in four buildings, of which one contains a meeting room, a sitting room, a library (about 7,000 volumes) and a music room. CapriOnLine Network