The Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast (Costiera Amalfitana) has seen its fair share of dreamers, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a place shrouded in myth and seems to hide a thousand secrets.

Legend has it that the Sirens, as described by Homer in the “Odyssey”, called this corner of paradise home. The Sirens, it is said, lived on a remote island off the Amalfi Coast and sang to sailors who passed by. So captivated were they by the voices, the sailors stopped and stayed forever. We can’t blame them. After just a week on the Amalfi Coast in June, you may decide to stay a lifetime, the way the enchantment of the region hangs in the lemon-scented air like a Siren’s chant.

Stretching south of the Bay of Naples, from the tip of the Sorrentine Peninsula, and winding along the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Amalfi Coast was once cut off from the rest of the world and only accessible by sea. Its maritime prowess during the 11th-13th centuries is still evident today in many of the villages. It was only in recent history (1815) that a road was built to link the towns.  But perhaps it was John Steinbeck who brought the outpost to the attention of curious Americans when he wrote of Positano, “it is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.”

Amalfi Coast Travel

Amalfi Coast tours by automobile have been called the most glorious drive in the world, and is often referred to as the Blue Ribbon (Nastro Azzuro), presumably thanks to prolific sea views. An odyssey along the serpentine route is a must for Amalfi Coast vacations and meanders from Positano in the west, through Praiano, Ravello, and Amalfi to Vietri sul Mare and Salerno in the east. The road itself is carved from cliff walls and climbs and falls through technicolor scenery so unreal, it’s like being on a movie set.  No wonder writers, poets, musicians, and Hollywood royalty like Greta Garbo, Sophia Loren, Clark Gable, and Humphrey Bogart frequented the fabled coastline, beguiled, no doubt, by its remote location that teeters between the real world and a fairy tale.

Today, Amalfi Coast travel remains the quintessential escape. While it’s still popular with the jet-set crowd and movie moguls looking for seclusion, travel to Amalfi Coast destinations is also popular with Italians, families, foreigners, and foodies who come to discover the delicious bounty of the region. The finest and most distinctive lemons in Italy come from the Amalfi Coast and are the key ingredient to the addictive elixir Limoncello, and the famous pastries of the Amalfi Coast.

Rest assured---the dreamers are still here---painting; writing; dreaming, and singing their enchanted songs. For even dreamers need a muse, and what better inspiration is there than the Amalfi Coast---a place whose very existence is a dream come true.

Towns of the Amalfi Coast

Ravello

Ravello rises three hundred meters above the Tyrrhenian Sea. Needless to say, the sherbet colored sunsets from Ravello are practically edible. Writer and Nobel laureate André Gide described it best. “Ravello is nearer the sky than the sea.” And D. H. Lawrence penned Lady Chatterley’s Lover here.  If ever a place were a dreamer’s lair, this would be the one. A Tuesday morning market sells local wine, fresh mozzarella, olive oil and the famous “Sfusato Amalfitano” lemon.

Positano

Positano boasts the most name recognition, thanks to movies, writers, and photos that have immortalized this pastel colored outpost. A local legend says the name Positano derives from a voice that repeated ‘posa, posa’ (put it down), heard when a ship, transporting a painting of the Virgin Mary, met a treacherous storm. The sailors sought shelter in what is today the harbor of Positano and, as soon as the painting was placed on shore, the storm abated.

Amalfi

Amalfi was founded in the 9th century was the epicenter of a great maritime power during the entire mediaeval age. The Amalfi Coast (then the Republic of Amalfi) possessed a powerful fleet of ships made up of mercantile and naval ships, and here at the walled shipyard of Arsenale Marinaro these vessels were built. Not much remains of the shipyard today, but 10 pillars. Amalfi also has a cathedral bedecked with Moorish archways and mosaics.

Praiano

Praiano is well known as a fisherman’s village, and its ancient name (Pelagium) means "open sea". The view on the sea and on Positano is spectacular. If hiking the Amalfi Coast is on the agenda, the "Sentiero degli Dei" (Walk of the Gods) starts in Praiano and offers unrivaled views the Amalfi Coast.

Salerno

Salerno is more urban than the other villages of the Amalfi Coast. As a result of earthquakes and heavy fighting during WWII, Salerno lost some of the charm that endures in nearby villages, but a renaissance of sorts is underway to renew the historical center and rediscover its artistic and cultural heritage.