Amalfi Coast

The Divine Coast

Magically suspended between the blue sky and the sea that offers iridescent reflections, the Amalfi Coast seems to have been born from the palette of a painter who wanted to use the warmest and most vivid shades of color to create a landscape that enchants the visitor at first sight, giving unique emotions and panoramas of such suggestion that they make you doubt, for a moment, whether they are real.

It is the land where the sweet scent of orange blossoms and lemons harmonizes with the aromatic scent of the Mediterranean scrub and the more acrid one of the saltiness; where the bright colors of the majolica domes and the gaudy ones of the bougainvilleas and carnations give a clear chromatic touch to the typical lime-plastered houses, climbing halfway up the hill and clinging to the last offshoots of the Lattari Mountains that fall dizzyingly towards the sea.

A vertical landscape, in short, in which a picturesque maze of stairways, streets and alleys unfolds, connecting the two elements that characterize the coastal territory: the mountain and the sea.

A continuous succession of promontories and inlets, bays and fjords, interspersed with pebble beaches and rocks on which the watchtowers from the viceregal era proudly stand, the first defensive bastion of the local populations against Saracen attacks.

From the sea, then, without interruption we move to the mountain, whose ridges have been “terraced” over the centuries, shaped by the work of man to create strips of cultivable land and compared, already in the Renaissance period, to the mythical Hesperides gardens by the writer and naturalist Giambattista Della Porta.

All the towns on the Amalfi Coast are connected to each other, to Salerno and to the Sorrento Peninsula by the panoramic SS.163, built in the Bourbon era in the first half of the 19th century and always considered one of the most beautiful roads in Italy.

Following the natural course of the coastal strip, the route is full of curves, squeezed between the rocky wall and the sheer sea, giving new and spectacular views at the exit of each tunnel or hairpin bend.

Before the construction of the coastal road, one reached the other via mule tracks and mountain paths, which still exist and are particularly appreciated by trekking enthusiasts for the suggestive scenery that can be admired there.

There are 13 municipalities spread over a strip of land kissed by the sun and declared a “World Heritage Site” by UNESCO:

• Amalfi, the town that gives its name to the Coast, is situated at the mouth of the Valle dei Mulini; it was the first of the four Maritime Republics and for a long time held the monopoly of trade with the East. It looks like a cluster of white houses clinging to the rock and connected by covered alleys and flights of steps.

The centre of the main square is dominated by the Cathedral of Sant’Andrea with its scenic staircase, the Arab-Norman-style bell tower and the impressive Paradise Cloister. The Amalfi Paper Museum is interesting, as well as the ancient and evocative Arsenals of the Republic.

• Atrani, a splendid village located at the entrance to the Valle del Dragone, opens up like a natural amphitheatre towards the sea, offering visitors suggestive and picturesque views as well as the pleasure of being able to relax in the small square a stone’s throw from the beach, far from mass tourism. At the beautiful Church of San Salvatore de’ Birecto (10th century), the official investiture of the Amalfi doges took place.

• Cetara, a fishing village clustered around the main church dedicated to St. Peter, is known for being an active fishing port specialising in the fishing of anchovies and tuna, their processing and subsequent preservation, and making particularly popular culinary dishes (such as the famous colatura di alici).

• Conca dei Marini, a village with a centuries-old seafaring tradition, is a natural balcony overlooking the sea, surrounded by Mediterranean maquis and terraces cultivated with ‘sfusato amalfitano’ grapes. In the monastery of Santa Rosa, clinging to the steep walls of a rocky spur, according to tradition the first sfogliatella Santa Rosa was made.

• Furore, also known as the ‘paese che non c’è’ (‘the village that isn’t there’) due to its urban conformation characterised by scattered dwellings surrounded by terraced vineyards. It is also known as the ‘painted village’, for the beautiful artistic murals ‘en plein air’ that give a chromatic touch to Furore’s dwellings.

But Furore is, first and foremost, the village of the fjord, carved out over the centuries by the Schiato torrent and where, every first Sunday in July, a stage of the MarMeeting, the World Championship of diving from great heights, is held.

• Maiori, the ancient Reghinna Major, became the favourite setting of neo-realist director Roberto Rossellini after World War II. The wide promenade is bordered to the east by the Torre Normanna and to the west by the marina and Miramare Castle; the old town centre, on the other hand, features, next to the neoclassical palaces, typical barrel-vaulted dwellings that constitute the first settlements of the coastal town and were built near the medieval fortress of Thoro-Plano. Also interesting is the medieval Abbey of Santa Maria de Olearia, located along the SS. 163 ‘Amalfitana’.

• Minori, the ancient Reghinna Minor, boasts an ancient tradition in the production of handmade pasta as well as in the processing of the so-called ‘yellow gold’ of the Coast. Surrounded by lush terraced gardens, the small town of the Divina hides architectural treasures of rare workmanship, such as the remains of the Roman maritime archaeological villa, dating back to the 1st century A.D., the Basilica of Santa Trofimena and the Arab-Norman style bell tower of the Annunziata.

• Positano, mundane and fashionable, it is certainly one of the best-known resorts on the Amalfi Coast, for its picturesque little stairways and lime-plastered houses that follow the natural course of the mountains, creating a vertical landscape. Appreciated by artists and jet-setters since the early post-war period, the town is famous for its handcrafted production of leather sandals and cotton and linen clothes (so-called Positano fashion), for its beautiful 19th and 20th century palazzi and postcard landscapes with the majolica-tiled dome of the Church of the Assunta and the Li Galli islands in the background.

• Praiano, the village where you can breathe in an authentic and genuine atmosphere, far from mass tourism, with its narrow streets that make their way through Mediterranean scrub, terraces and picturesque dwellings and lead directly to the sea. Suggestive and romantic are the sunsets that can be admired here, with the purple sun slowly disappearing behind the mountains, illuminating in the background Capri with its Faraglioni and the Sorrento Peninsula with Punta Campanella.

• Ravello, the land of the Divine already extolled by Boccaccio in the Decameron and which, with its picture-postcard landscapes and noble atmosphere, was a source of inspiration for Richard Wagner who, in the very gardens of Villa Rufolo, imagined the magical Gardens of Klingsor. Buen retiro of jet-set personalities, it is home to one of Italy’s oldest music festivals, the Ravello Festival, which each year offers a new theme embracing all artistic disciplines.

Alongside sacred buildings, often dating back to medieval times, ancient palaces and noble villas coexist with contemporary constructions, such as the Auditorium designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. The panorama from the belvedere of Villa Cimbrone is certainly one of the most famous in the world!

• Scala, the oldest village on the Amalfi Coast, the birthplace of Fra’ Gerardo Sasso, founder of the Order of the Knights of Malta; surrounded by thick chestnut woods, it has managed to preserve a quiet and relaxing atmosphere that harmonises well with the rich monuments, testimony to the wealth of the population during the Middle Ages, composed mainly of noble merchants.

The ruins of the Basilica of Sant’Eustachio, located in a panoramic position above the village of Pontone, still show the splendid inlays on the outside of the apses, the frescoes and the precious marbles of this once the largest church in the Duchy of Amalfi.

• Tramonti, a hilltop town on the Amalfi Coast nestled in the green Lattari Mountains, amidst chestnut woods and terraces of centuries-old vineyards that produce full-bodied, strong wines (tintore), is the ideal place to stop and appreciate the authentic flavours of peasant cuisine, especially dairy products, bread and pizza, prepared since the Middle Ages in rural ovens with rye, millet and barley flour and flavoured with spices and lard.

• Vietri sul mare, the first municipality on the Amalfi Coast coming from Salerno, is world-famous for its production of brightly coloured, sun-drenched artistic ceramics, which has been known since the 15th century.

It is a town in which the beautiful noble palazzi in the centre, with their often richly decorated façades, coexist harmoniously with the splendid hillside villages of Raito and Albori, in which one can breathe in an atmosphere with an ancient flavour, the organic architecture of Paolo Soleri’s Solimene Factory with the neoclassical forms of Villa Guariglia, whose Torretta Belvedere houses the Provincial Museum of Ceramics.