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HOME > PHOTOALBUMS > ITALY > SOUTHERN > AMALFI COAST

THE TOWNS OF AMALFI, POSITANO AND RAVELLO

Below Sorrento, there are many little villages along the shoreline known as the Amalfi Coast. We visited the three best known villages. There is a wicked highway of hairpin turns that connects Sorrento to Amalfi, but we chose to visit by hydrofoil, which we caught in the harbor in Sorrento. There is another very famous tourist spot off the coast of the peninsula called the Isle of Capri, which required a different boat, but we were not that interested in seeing it. (I think of Paris Hilton and the other over-exposed demi-gods and goddesses of modern life.)

Positano and Amalfi are picturesque villages dug into the hills and slopes of the shoreline. Ravello is in the hills above Amalfi, with a serene and cool view of the entire Bay of Naples.

A M A L F I

On a clear and beautiful day with warm weather, we took a hydrofoil down the coast to Amalfi.

An independent republic from the seventh century until 1075, Amalfi rivaled Pisa and Genoa in its domestic prosperity and maritime importance, with a population of some 70,000. Amalfi today is an important tourist destination together with Positano and Ravello. Amalfi is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Amalfi is also the site of the magnificent medieval cathedral of Sant' Andrea (Saint Andrew) an interesting mix of Moorish and early Gothic influences from the the 9th to 13th centuries and the home of the remains of  St. Andrew. 

Duomo Sant' Andrea    Amalfi 2006

On our way to Amalfi (Isle of Capri in the background) 2006

Duomo Sant' Andrea    Amalfi 2006

A M A L F I   B L O G  C O N T I N U E D

Sometimes the most wonderful unexpected things happen. It was Saturday in Amalfi and there was a wedding in progress (several weddings actually) at the local cathedral, Sant' Andrea.

Only later, did I see that Alberto invited himself into the wedding pictures. Can you find Alberto? Can you find the big guy looking at Alberto? , thinking - "wait a minute , a'fanculo,  we didn't invite a Mexican to this wedding..."

Bride and Groom and Groom's mother  Amalfi 2006

P O S I T A N O

Positano was a prosperous port of the Amalfi Republic in the 16th and 17th centuries. But by the mid-19th century, the town had fallen on hard times. More than half the population emigrated, mostly to the United States of America.

Positano was a relatively poor fishing village during the first half of the 20th century. It began to attract large numbers of tourists in the 1950s, especially after John Steinbeck published his essay about Positano in Harper's Bazaar in May, 1953: "Positano bites deep", Steinbeck wrote. "It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone."

Tourism is the major industry in Positano. Today, Positano is considered one of the most chic destinations in Europe. Two of its hotels, Il San Pietro and Le Sirenuse, are frequently cited as among the best in the world.

 

R A V E L L O

The town has served historically as a destination for artists, musicians, and writers, including Richard Wagner, M.C. Escher, Giovanni Boccaccio, Virginia Woolf, Gore Vidal, and Sara Teasdale who mentioned it in her  dedication in Love Songs, one of her many books of poems.

Every year in the summer months, the "Ravello Festival" takes place. It began in 1953 in honor of Richard Wagner but now includes a wide variety of musical forms from jazz to opera.

 2006

Ravello  2006