Axel Martin Fredrik Munthe was a Swedish-born physician and psychiatrist, best known as the author of The Story of San Michele, an autobiographical account of his life and work. He spoke several languages, grew up in Sweden, attended medical school there, then studied medicine in Paris and opened his first practice in France. He was married to a wealthy Englishwoman and spent most of his adult life in Italy.

Capri is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The largest settlement on the island is the town of Capri. The island has been a resort since the time of the Roman Republic.