Overlooking the picturesque island of Capri, this portion of the Mediterranean coast has sunny beaches and marvelous roads winding tightly among lemon orchards and terraces. The small cities are just as spectacular as the landscape on the road that links them. The houses are packed together on the mountain coast, with enough space among them just for a stairway that takes the place of a usual street. This way all the owners enjoy the sunset or the sunrise over the see.
You can get to Amalfi by bus from Naples (35 km south), and once there you must not miss the St Andrew’s cathedral, which is a testimony of the Byzantine heritage of this UNESCO list city. Amalfi prospered from the trade between the Byzantine Empire, the Otoman and Arab world and the Western world. Now it tempts tourists with its limoncello, a liquor made from lemons and with various types of souvenirs, from ceramics to fabrics. Though limoncello started to be made outside Italy it still remains a local brand that made Amalfi famous. A different variety of giant lemons grow here, called sfusato amalfitano, which are sweeter than ordinary lemons.
The place is so romantic and such a tourist magnet that couples often come here to get married or in their honeymoon.
The naval tradition of Amalfi harbor is remembered by a statue by Alfonso Balzico of a medieval sailor, Flavio Gioia, which is said to have used the compass for the first time.
Sorrento is the city that gives name to this limb of land called Sorrentine Peninsula, a small extension of the boot contour of Italy, which is a peninsula in itself. Sorrento is the birthplace of the poet Torquato Tasso, which now gives name to a central plaza.
The main monument in Positano is the church dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Santa Maria Assunta). It is a church with Byzantine influence, built in a place of a thousand years old abbey. Both churches from Amalfi and Positano host relics and icons sacked from Constantinople by crusaders and pirates.
In all these three cities there are numerous coffee bars on or overlooking the beach, as well as ferries that can take you on a cruise to Capri or Naples.