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Positano Web Guide - Italy |
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Clinging
improbably to the near-vertical coast about halfway between Amalfi and
Sorrento, Positano is the best-known resort of the Costiera Amalfitana.
Achingly picturesque, with its tumble of pastel-hued houses ranged in
stepped ranks like spectators in an amphitheater, the town specializes
in promenaders' activities shopping, eating, sipping, boat-hopping,
and, especially, people-watching. The gray shingle beach is fine for a
quick dip, but most serious sun-worshippers take one of the regular
boats to and from a series of smaller coves along the coast.
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Positano is situated in the Campania region of Italy, on the Amalfi Coast. Once a wealthy maritime power, it began the last century as a fishing settlement, and ended it as a popular, and rather chi-chi resort, famous for its hotels and boutiques as well as for the winding stairways that connect the town, and the towering cliffs above. Every inch of land is prized; buildings are stacked up one above the other on the steep slopes, and open areas are intensively cultivated with fruit and vegetables thriving in the fertile volcanic soil. |
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mountainous interior of the peninsula rises above the town, and Positano
boasts one the world's few 'pierced' mountains; a giant shoulder of rock
with a hole punched through it (a miracle performed by the Virgin Mary,
according to local folklore). Positano was once part of the powerful Republic of Amalfi, and played its part in international trading despite the lack of a harbour. Surviving Saracen raids, the town thrived and in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was famous for its trading with the East. Impressive palazzi were built; several are now romantically crumbling, others have been converted into luxury hotels. With the onset of the industrial revolution, harbourless Positano could not compete with rival ports, and had to wait until the birth of the tourist industry to regain its wealthy status. |
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Positano
Drive The corniche road, Positano Drive, provides one of the world's hairiest and most scenic motoring experiences—veering vertiginously around the jagged edge of the Lattari Mountains, twisting and tunneling and hairpin-bending, providing vista after stunning vista of gorges, bridges, cliffs plunging vertically into the glassy Tyrrhenian Sea, and sudden improbable villages tucked picturesquely into the landscape. Of course, the designated driver will miss the scenery, being too busy concentrating on the white knuckles: John Steinbeck, who used to come here in the 1950s, claimed the Amalfi Drive was "carefully designed to be a little narrower than two cars side by side." From the east, the route begins in Salerno, a working port city with a Norman Duomo. Beyond the town of Vietri sul Mare, famous for its colorful ceramicware, the road skirts the imposing bulk of Monte dell'Avvocata, passing Cetara, a salty fishing town that represents the Amalfi Coast at its least touristy. After the low-key resorts of Maiori and Minori comes the historic town of Amalfi, the coast's unofficial capital. Worthwhile stops between Amalfi and Positano include the Vallone di Furore, pictured, a rare Mediterranean fjord, whose steep rock walls shelter an enclave of fishermen's houses and their tiny harbor; and Praiano, a pretty, low-key alternative to the glitz of Positano. West of Positano, the road enters its most spectacular stretch: The nine-mile Nastro Azzurro, which clings to the side of the cliffs as it climbs to Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi: From there, it's a steep descent down into Sorrento on the other side of the peninsula. |
| If you're driving, be warned that the whole town has a painfully slow one-way system that can take the best part of an hour to negotiate: Best advice, if you don't have the benefit of a hotel parking lot, is to leave the car at the first space you find (not an easy task in high season) and walk—or hop on one of the regular buses. |
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TO GET THERE The closest airport is Naples Capodichino International Airport (NAP), about 40 miles northwest of Amalfi. By train, you can travel from Rome to Naples, then take the scenic Circumvesuviana to Sorrento. A hydrofoil service also connects Naples with Sorrento. |
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Recommendation
provided by the
Hotel Onda Verde Statale 163 (State Highway 163), which runs along the southern side of the Sorrentine peninsula as far as Salerno, is better known as the Amalfi Drive. It can be reached from Naples via the A3 Autostrada to Castellammare di Stabia, which is on the northern side of the Sorrentine peninsula and is linked to Sorrento farther west by Statale 145. Beyond Sorrento, Statale 145 winds westward around the tip of the peninsula and returns eastward along its southern edge as Statale 163 - the Amalfi Drive. The road is a concrete ribbon that rewards visitors with mountain-meets-sea views at every turn, but driving it, as well as the narrow hairpin roads of the Sorrentine peninsula, can be both a joy and a challenge. Medium-size cars are a good compromise. The round reflecting mirrors set along major curves in the road intend to show if others are coming around a bend; they may help but remain ever alert. Honk before curves to let oncoming traffic know about you, and Listn for honks from oncoming curves. Buses and trucks will sometimes require you to back up; if there's a standoff, take it in stride, as it goes on all the time. For these circumstances
we would like to recommend
you that the best way to get to Hotel Onda Verde from Naples is by
pre-arranged taxi. We can arrange for a luxurious and comfortable Mercedes
to meet you at the Naples airport or train station and bring you directly
to us, for a one way fare of Euro 120,00 for up to 3 persons (90' min.
route driving). With this method you will be met at either the Naples
airport or railway station (Piazza Garibaldi) by a driver holding a sign
with your name. Then you will ride comfortably to Hotel Onda Verde,
enjoying the beautiful scenery without worries about directions or charges.
Click to Learn More. Parking is a major problem. It is often a good idea (if not the only option) to park your car in a designated (preferably attended) lot. Parking in an area signposted zona disco (disk zone) is allowed for limited periods (from 30 minutes to two hours or more - the limit is posted); if you don't have the cardboard disk (inquire at the local tourist office) to show what time you parked, you can use a piece of paper. The parcometro, the Italian version of metered parking in which you put coins into a machine for a stamped ticket that you leave on the dashboard, has been introduced in some places. It's advisable to leave your car only in guarded parking areas. Therefore, for a tranquil vacation, we advise leaving your own car at home and making use of taxi or public transport as explained below. If you prefer to use
the public transportation services on these web pages we have included all
the timetables and available services relevant to the Amalfitana coast,
that is to say the timetables os
Sita buses,
the
Circumvesuviana trains and the
ferries, so that you will be able to arrange excursions to
Amalfi (7 Km),
Positano (7 Km),
Ravello (13 Km) and
other points of interest on the Sorrentina-Amalfitana coast directly from
home. Taxi from Rome Fiumicino to Positano airport & train station Coming.... Bus schedules.... |
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The
Amalfi
Coast
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A
holiday resort favored by the elite at the end of the 19th century,
Positano has responded adequately to the tourism demand, and is today one
of the most popular seaside and holiday resorts throughout Italy.
