AMALFI COAST
Forty kilometers of coastline divided Salerno to Positano, and another ten to Positano until Sorrento.
Step by step, here are all the places to visit in your tour on the Amalfi coast: Vietri sul Mare – Cetara – Erchie – Maiori -Minori – Atrani – Amalfi – Conca dei Marini – Furore – Ravello – Praiano – Positano.
Vietri sul Mare (Salerno: 3 Km)
From our B & B the Amalfi coast is as early as three kilometers (just a few minutes away by train, bus or taxi), exactly those that separate us from the picturesque seaside town of Vietri sul Mare.
The dome of the church of San Giovanni Battista, with its beautiful tiles, is the first sign of welcome with which the “divine coast” greets the visitor at the exit of the highway.
Vietri is known throughout the world for its artistic ceramics: is it worth to go through the shops to buy one of the finest artifacts on display, or simply to choose an original object to bring to friends returning from the trip.
Cetara (from Salerno: 7 Km)
A few hairpin bends after Vietri sul Mare you get to Cetara, quiet fishing village that still retains the charm of the past. Here the seafaring and fishing vocation relives every year, in August, with the Tuna Festival, always been preferred prey of experienced fishermen of Cetara. There is a very popular beach down the country, but stopping along the coastal road can be accessed (going down a lot of steps) to a beautiful cove with a beach and bathing facilities. From Salerno it takes about ten minutes to reach Erchie (from Salerno: 8 Km) .
The beach of Erchie is larger than that of Cetara and the sea is equally clean. The village is small and does not offer many things to do (except a nice church to see), but it is the ideal place to spend a day at sea without the fatigue of going through long stairs.
Maiori (Salerno: 18 Km)
In Maiori the context is vibrant thanks to the many young people who flock to the long beach of sand and stones and that can be found until late in the evening, in cafes and restaurants facing the waterfront.
The village still offers many things to visit, including the Castle of San Nicola de Thoro-Plano, the Collegiata of Santa Maria a Mare (XIII century) and the Abbey of Santa Maria de Olearia.
An event with a particular flavour takes place during Easter (on Pentecost Monday) when a large number of devotees flow into the mountain Mirteto near the church dell’Avvocata, to pay tribute to the typical ritual of tammurriata (their homage to the Virgin).
Minor (from Salerno: 20 km)
The “little sister” of Maiori has a personality and its own charm, which is fully manifested in the atmosphere of the village and in the many monuments and churches in this piece of land lapped by the sea.
In addition to the Basilica of Santa Trofimena, it is worth visiting the Maritime Villa Romana (which hosts valuable artefacts and mosaics of the time), the Campanile of The Holy Annunziata and the Confraternity of the SS Sacramento.
Amalfi (Salerno: 23 Km)
Amalfi is a place that will leave you breathless from the first glance: sun-soaked most of the year, this small town framed by mountains slopes gently down to the blue sea.
It seems almost impossible to think that a thousand years ago has been so industrious as to dominate the maritime traffic in the Mediterranean. The traces of this glorious past can be found in the Ancient Arsenals of the Amalfi Republic, where galleys were built, and in the Maritime Code of Amalfi (known as “Tabula de Amalpha”), a copy of which, written in ‘400, is preserved in the Civic Musuem.
Walking through the streets of Old Town you will come across the massive Cathedral of St. Andrew, in Arabic-Norman style, with its famous staircase dominates the central square of the village. Crossing the magnificent Byzantine door, built in Constantinople in 1066, the three-nave interior is striking for the beauty of the pillars covered with polychrome marble, coffered ceiling in gold, silver and precious paintings.
From the Cathedral we pass the Paradise Cloister, a small jewel in which relives the magic of the palaces of the Middle East, and from this we enter into the Diocesan Museum of the Basilica of the Crucifix in which there are liturgical vestments, sculptures, mosaics and other treasures . The Regatta of the Ancient Maritime Republics is a sporting event of historical importance, established in 1955 with the aim of evoking the companies and the rivalry of the most renowned Italian maritime republics: those of Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa and Venice, during which each of their four crews challenge, representatives of each of the republics. This event, held under the high patronage of the President of the Italian Republic, is held every year on a day between the end of May and the beginning of July, and is hosted in rotation among these cities. The regatta is preceded by an historical procession, during which some figures march through the streets of the city hosting that take on the role of ancient characters that characterized each republic.
Atrani (Salerno: 24 Km)
Atrani is the ideal place to stay for dinner after a day at the coast to taste delicious dishes of fish and seafood.
Ravello (Salerno: 29 Km)
Built in the sixth century, Ravello is situated in one of the most extensive areas on the gulf.
Inside its architectural beauty and its charming landscape, Ravello is considered as the most precious jewel of the Amalfi coast, which is reached through one of the most suggestive beauty scenary. For this reason it has been a favorite destination for travelers, intellectuals, artists, musicians, such as Boccaccio, Wagner, and many others, who here took inspiration for their works.
The village still retains its medieval aspect: the twisted streets, houses, churches with wonderful mosaics testifying the Byzantine and Arabian influence on the southern Romanesque.
Places to visit:
- Villa Rufolo
It dates back to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and belonged to the family Rufolo, then the Confalone to Muscettola, Distressed and, finally, in the mid-nineteenth century, the Scot Francis Neville Reid. The building, three stories in Arabic style, housed important people as Pope Adrian IV and King Robert of Anjou.
In the beautiful exotic gardens of Villa Rufolo, Wagner found the ideal garden of Klingsor Parsifal; in its terrace overlooking the sea is celebrated today the famous Wagner Festival.
- House Cimbrone
We could define it as visionary creation of an English lord. Its history is controversial, but no doubt the result is fascinating. The site of House Cimbrone, as well as its name, is ancient: it was a large landowner possession of the noble family Acconciagioco, on which stood a large rustic farmhouse. The lush garden of the house, with its scattered statues, temples, inscriptions, fountains, natural caves and ravines crafted, culminated in the spectacular viewpoint of the Infinity, from which the view extends and expands to grasp the view that Gore Vidal called “the most beautiful in the world.”
- Ravello Festival
Ravello and its manors are the backdrop for this music festival full of concerts of classical music and jazz. The inspiration that Wagner found here for his masterpiece Parsifal, has meant that this great artist is often celebrated during the concert season and made Ravello famous throughout the world as the “City of Music.”
Conca dei Marini (from Salerno: 30 km)
So named for the characteristic morphology of the place, it is a picturesque fishing village perched on a rocky ridge. Here the sea is crystal clear and swim is an experience you will not forget.
Furore (Salerno: 33 Km)
Immediately after there is the tiny Furore and its fjord, where a large opening in the rock where the sea creeps and foam.
Praiano (Salerno: 35 km)
The beach of Marina di Praia is an oasis of peace and beauty between two towering cliffs. It can be reached easily by car going down the road (there are good parking facilities) or taking a bus or directly by boat from Amalfi.
Moreover in Praiano there is the Cala Gavitella, who holds a particular record by being the only place in coastal areas, where the sun does not slip behind the mountains before sunset: thanks to its exposure to the west, with views of Capri, Positano and the island of Li Galli, at this beach you can sunbathe until late.