In September, Lauri, Meg, and I experienced an enchanting vacation to Italy's Amalfi Coast. This region is a stretch of coastline on the southern coast of the Sorrentine Peninsula in the Province of Salerno in Southern Italy, about 1 hour south of Naples.
Day One - Lauri & Robin arrive from Ankara, Turkey and got settled in. Our home away from home is in Positano. Positano was a prosperous port of the Almalfi 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 Australia.
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."
One of the main sites is the church of Santa Maria Assunta features a dome made of majolica tiles as well as a 13th Byzantine century icon of a black Madonna. According to local legend, the icon had been stolen from Byzantium and was being transported by pirates across the Mediterranean. A terrible storm had blown up in the waters opposite Positano and the frightened sailors heard a voice on board saying "Posa, posa!" ("Put down! Put down!"). The precious icon was unloaded and carried to the fishing village and the storm abated.
Positano has been featured in several films, including Only You (1994), and Under the Tuscan Sun (2003). It also hosts the annual Cartoons on the Bay Festival, at which Pulcinella awards for excellence in animation are presented. From July of 1967 and through most of the 1970s, Positano was home of singer-songwriter Shawn Phillips and was where most of his best known work was composed. Also, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones wrote the song "Midnight Rambler" in the cafes of Positano while on vacation.
We rented an apartment for the entire week. The landlord told us to stop at the Poseiden hotel, give her a call, unload the bags, and park the car. I did, then walked about a half mile back to Lauri and the bags. She called the "porters" to carry the bags. Usually I am VERY cheap about such things, but was glad she did it without asking. Our apartment was down 70 steep, narrow stairs! This meant that anytime we wanted to access the street, we climbed the same stairs back up. Of course, the beach was down another 265 steps. Feel bad for us? We talked to another couple who dealt with 500+ stairs. Positano sits on a steep mountain with only one, one-way street winding along the hillside. You will see it in the photos.Our apartment was wonderful! Up on the deck, we could look out over the town - you'll see numerous photos from that vantage point. At night, we would hear a band playing at a local restaurant.
Day Two - Pick Meg up at the Naples Airport - We showed her around town for the afternoon. For dinner, we took a quick boat ride to another beach to eat an interesting dinner. This was the annual Festival of Pesce (fish).
More photos to come ... (click on the picture to watch the slideshow by itself)
Day Three - Sorrento
Day Four - Amalfi Town
Day Five - Capri
Day Six -Pompei
Day Seven - Amalfi Coast Cruise
Day Eight - Ravello
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