Generale_INGL 25-03-2008 13:27 Pagina 92 The Amalfi Coast 92 93 The incomparable beauty of the Amalfi Coast has enchanted visitors from all corners of the earth. The i lush green terraces, suspended over a sparkling sea, the wealth of art and the architectural characteristics, make it one of the most celebrated places on earth. Wild, daring and romantic, the Coast is an obligatory stop in any journey to Italy. From a Azienda Autonoma geographic point of view the “coast of the Sirens” di Cura Soggiorno e is the southern slope of the Sorrentine Peninsula, Turismo di Positano which in the north closes the Gulf of Salerno. via del Saracino 4 tel. 089 875067 The scenery is characterised by mighty cliffs that www.aziendaturismopositano.it drop into the sea, rich with bays and coves like the splendid Emerald Grotto at Conca dei Marini and the Azienda Autonoma Fiordo (Fjord) di Furore. Amidst vertiginous slopes, di Cura Soggiorno e sheer drops and precipitous cliffs, there are places Turismo di Amalfi via delle Repubbl. Marinare where nature is still uncontaminated, like the Vallone tel. 089 871107 di Porto Oasis. www.amalfitouristoffice.it The little villages that dot the “divine coast” are all to be explored, enjoying a clear blue sea, the Azienda Autonoma stupefying views, the artistic treasures and the lively di Cura Soggiorno e Turismo di Ravello high society life. Shopping is also a venerated via Roma 18 bis activity: in the characteristic boutiques of “Positano tel. 089 857096 Fashion”, the ceramic shops of Vietri or sampling www.ravellotime.it a delicious meal of traditional cuisine. Azienda Autonoma di Cura Soggiorno e Turismo di Maiori corso Reginna 73 tel. 089 877452 www.aziendaturismo-maiori.it Comunità Montana dei Monti Lattari-Penisola Sorrentina Via A. Coppola 1 - Agerola tel. 081 8025811 Amalfi Museo Civico Pal. Morelli - p.zza Municipio 1 tel. 089 8736211 Museo della Carta - Pal. Pagliata via delle Cartiere 23 tel. 089 8304561 View of the Amalfi Coast from Villa Cimbrone, Ravello Conca dei Marini Emerald Grotto, which can be Gulf of Naples from that of The mild climate to be accessed both from the SS 63 Salerno, in a terrain that found in all seasons and the via lift or stair and from the descends from over 1000 uncontaminated sea through an artificial wharf. mts high to a wild, craggy environment favour land From Amalfi, the grotto can be reached by board trip (tel. 089 the Lattari Mountains shore. Those who enjoy and sea animal life, as well famous travellers 873090). Regional Park hiking will find a system as lush vegetation into of 34 signposted trails that which cultivation Maiori The Lattari Mountains traverses the entire area, the (vineyards, terraced olive The Day of Judgement, for those amalfitans that go Museo della Collegiata di Regional Park comprises most evocative of which and citrus groves) are S.Maria a Mare - largo Campo to heaven, will be a day like any other. admirably integrated. the Sorrentine-Amalfi being the “Sentiero degli tel. 089 877090 Renato Fucini, 1878 Peninsula and separates the Dei” (Trail of the Gods). Generale_INGL 25-03-2008 13:27 Pagina 94 not to be missed the coast in 1 day the coast in 3 days shopping outings with children Cathedral of Amalfi Amalfi Amalfi Ceramics of Vietri sul Mare Amalfi Paper Museum Positano Positano Ravello Limoncello of Amalfi Positano Cathedral of Ravello Positano Positano Fashion Valle delle Ferriere State Fiordo di Furore Wine Natural Reserve Vietri sul Mare Beaches of Maiori Archipelago Li Galli 94 95 events April-October July-October _Positano Art Festival _Positano Summer Positano Positano June or July August _Regatta of the Four Maritime _'Pesce Azzurro' (Sardines Republics etc.) Festival Amalfi Atrani (Every 4 years) August 14th June-July _Landing of the Saracens _Chamber Music on the Positano Amalfi Coast Amalfi Coast October _Amalfi Coast Fitness June-September Festival _Ravello Festival Amalfi Coast Ravello _Minori in Colour December Music, art, performance, _Christmas and New Year in culture Amalfi Minori _Arts Festival Amalfi Coast and Nocera- Sarno Countryside _Amalfi by Night Music and Performance Trails July _”A tutto tonno” Tuna Festival Cetara July-August _Jazz On The Coast Minori _Dance and Musical Theatre Minori Conca dei Marini art and archaeology nature and parks for young people specialities spas and fitness Cathedral of Amalfi Lattari Mountains Regional Amalfi Anchovie straining (Cetara) Beauty centres of the major Cathedral of Ravello Natural Park Maiori Amalfi lemons hotels San Giovanni del Toro Marina di Punta Campanella Positano Minori pasta (Ravello) Natural Reserve Praiano Cetara Red Tuna Villa Rufolo (Ravello) Valle delle Ferriere State Amalfi Coast Doc wines Santa Maria de Olearia Natural Riserve Complex (Maiori) Generale_INGL 25-03-2008 13:27 Pagina 96 From Positano famous travellers to Amalfi Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone. Its houses climb a hill so steep it would be a cliff except that stairs are cut in it. The small curving bay of unbelievably blue and green water lips gently on a beach of small pebbles. John Steinbeck, 1953 96 97 Set into the mountain, surrounded by rich Positano is a holiday destination appreciated for VIP mediterranean vegetation, Positano is so vacations. Around 1940 Irene Kowaliska, a painter picturesque as to seem a spontaneous stage setting. who lived here in Villa Sette Santi, used Positano Seen from the sea it looks like a huge nativity scene, as inspiration for her paintings on cloth. The Villa a waterfall of little multicoloured houses clinging Stella Romana has been host to, among other onto its sides. Popes, Pope John Paul II. Illustrious artists, fashion moguls and screen stars love to come here to relax. The town develops vertically. The homes, one on top of the other, are characterised by arched porticos A few miles from the coast are Li Galli, or that give onto the sea, and are painted in pastel “Sirenuse”, a tiny archipelago made up of three colours, giving it the look of a multifaceted precious islets: the Gallo Lungo, the Rotonda and the stone. It is not for nothing that Positano is called Castelluccio, considered the ancient dwellings of the “the gem of the divine coast”. enchanting Sirens. Positano is not just about the sea: pleasant walks take one to visit the evocative The narrow streets, lined with boutiques, run areas around Lattari Mountains, like downhill between the houses flowing onto the Montepertuso, so-called because it is said that the Spiaggia Grande, a wide beach. From here there is Madonna appeared here in a hole in the cliff a beautiful view of the sea, as well as of the town as (“pertuso” stands for hole) . A stairway of 1,700 it clambers up the mountainside. steps takes you to Nocelle. It is from here that the On the main square of Positano is the parish church famous Trail of the Gods (Sentiero degli Dei) of Santa Maria Assunta, there since the year begins, with beautiful views over the entire coast. 1,000. The great coloured majolica cupola is visible Or you can reach the beautiful coastal Punta San from all over town. The little beaches of Positano are Pietro, where there is a little church on a precipice charming, and easy to get to on foot or by boat: over the sea. Fornillo, Fiumicello and Arienzo. Positano Li Galli Positano” fashion was dresses. The hand-made to be the dwellings of the Russian dancer and realised: dozens of leather footwear can be Sirens, mythical figures that coreographer Leonide boutiques show off their ordered to size. attracted seafarers with their Massine built a villa whimsical summer-wear, by On sale are the colourful chants, often causing them to (restructered in 1927 by the shopping in Positano now known the world over. local ceramics, the the myth of the Sirens wreck. The myths probably architect Le Corbusier) that Textiles and colours lay paintings by the many served as warnings: the islets was eventually bought by down the law in the world artists that propose views of were meant to be a reference Rudolf Nureyev. In memory Positano is synonymous of beachwear: pareus to the enchanting gulf, and a The Sirenuse archipelago point for the sailors, if they got of these artists the Positano with summer fashion. In the bikinis, casual and “gran wide range of typical (now known as Li Galli) in too close to land they would International Award for the Art labyrinth of alleys the gala” evening wear, even products. front of Positano, three solitary end up on the rocks. In 1924, of Dance is presented every miracle of “made in characteristic wedding rocky islets, were considered on the islet of Gallo Lungo, the year. Generale_INGL 25-03-2008 13:27 Pagina 98 Amalfi Valle delle Ferriere 98 99 On a slope cultivated with vines and olive trees one The heart and soul of the coast is Amalfi. In the finds Furore. The ancient name for the entire area serene blue of the sky and sea, Amalfi, guarded by was once Terra Furoris, for the deafening noise its port, seems held in the palm of a hand. Above, made by the sea and the wind during tempestuous the scenic drapery of the mountains, hinged like a nights as they echoed among the high walls of the backdrop, dotted with houses; below, a picturesque sheer fjords that come straight down from the weaving of alleys and steps, all the way to the plateau of Agerola. A steep set of steps takes you to Piazza, where the Cathedral dominates from the top the bottom.