Sorrento is one of the best-known resort towns in Italy and has attracted visitors since the Roman Age. It is located at the beginning of the Sorrentine Peninsula, a wonderful area suspended between green hills, steep cliffs and the blue of the Mediterranean Sea. On a clear day the city of Naples, about 30 miles away, can be seen as well as the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius and the island of Ischia. Sorrento can be easily visited in a day, exploring the narrow streets of the old town’s center with its patrician villas or taking a stroll to the Marina Grande, a traditional fishing harbour. There is also great shopping including designer clothes, antiques and jewelry crafted with the local tradition of inlaid wood.
Positano has Greek origins and it is considered Italy’s most vertical city, a waterfall of coloroued little house and villas falling down the sea. The church of Santa Maria Assunta features a dome made of ‘majolica’ tiles as well as a 13th century Byzantine icon of a Black Madonna. According to the local legend the icon had been stolen in Byzantium and carried by pirates across the Mediterranean Sea. Today Positano attracts many visitors for its local shops and fashion boutiques.
Amalfi was founded in the 9th century and at its peak in the 11th century was a powerful maritime republic. The small town still bears many reminders and signs of its glorious past. Its pastel-coloured houses, churches and towers seem to hang suspended above a small harbour. The most important monument is located in the town’s main square, the Cathedral of Saint Andrew and the Cloister of Paradise. It was built in the 9th century and is a superb example of Romanesque-Amalfitan style.
