Amalfi Coast
Place: Amalfi (SA)
Distance from Pilaccio: 74 km
Journey time: 85 minutes
Time to visit: 1 day
The Amalfi Coast, a UNESCO world heritage site, has always been an ideal destination for tourists from all over the world attracted by the harmony of the natural scenic beauties and the artistic and architectural elements for which it is world-wide renowned.
Amalfi, gently stretching out on the coastal line named after it, is a wonderful little town once also famous for being one of the ancient maritime republics together with Venice, Pisa and Genoa. Known in the past centuries for the ability of its sailors who also perfected the invention of the compass, Amalfi is a model of Arab-Norman architecture whose outstanding example is the antique Cathedral built at the beginning of 1200 on top of steep stairs. A maze of alleys, old arches and stairs make tourists breathe a magic atmosphere mingling the present to the past. Worth a visit are also the Cloister of Paradise (Chiostro del Paradiso), the Arsenals of the Republic, (Arsenali della Repubblica), a place where jails were built, the Museum of the Paper (Museo della Carta) and the Municipal Museum, (Museo Civico) where the first navigation code called Tabula Amalphitana is kept.
Positano, a picturesque village with multicoloured small houses built on a terraced slope rising steeply above the sea, is famous all over the world for the unique fashion style of its handicraft displayed in the numerous boutiques and little shops scattered along the characteristic narrow streets where you can also find the typical hand made sandals. Amalfi and Positano are only two of the wonders offered by the territory.
To complete the panorama of the jugged Amalfi Coast, characterized by high steep cliffs and small bays over a crystalline sea, are other charming little towns among which Ravello which hosts, yearly concert festivals in the open, on terraces leaning out over the sea. In Ravello also worth mentioning are Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrione two attractive green lungs in this small town which also numbers illustrious personages of the past such as W. Churchill, H. Bogart and John F. Kennedy among its affectionate visitors. Praiano, famous for the sea resorts in Marina of Praia; Atrani with its peculiar small houses built on rocky, steep slopes; Minori where it is possible to visit the majestic ruins of a Roman Villa dating back to the 1st century A.D.; Cetara a small village on the sea known for anchovy fishing and a typical local dish of spaghetti dressed with anchovies dripping (spaghetti alla colatura dalici); Furore, a marine village located in a narrow creek, where the famous Italian film director R. Rossellini shot the movie Amore (Love) starring the actress Anna Magnani; and, last but not least, Vietri sul Mare (Vietri on the Sea), well-known for its ceramic craftwork production started in the Middle Ages and still thriving today.