Amanda Tabberer - My Amalfi Coast: Travel Edition

Positano grips a magnificent stretch of rocky, curving coastline through which the main road winds perilously close to the cliff-edge. This must be the most photographed town on the Amalfi Coast its panorama of chalk-white Moorish-style buildings (with the occasional gelato-coloured one to break the monotony) is recognised worldwide. And the contrasting deep-blue of the Mediterranean Sea that embraces this town gives a perfect aesthetic balance. Surrounded by the magnificent Lattari Mountains, Positano has been built on the most dramatic cliff face on the coastline. Its concentration of rooftops huddled tightly together, seemingly stacked one on top of the other, create a pyramid shape that when viewed from the sea resembles an arrowhead pointing to the sky.

Much of the architecture in Positano, and all along the Amalfi Coast, features the classic Mediterranean/Arabic cupola-shaped tiled dome. Chiesa Madre, the magnificent mother church of Positano, is covered in beautiful sea-green, lemon-yellow, black and white majolica tiles, the famous enamelled tiles originally from Majorca in Spain. These coloured tiles appear to be something of a trademark amongst churches up and down the Amalfi Coast, which can often prove disorientating for visitors especially when buying postcards. Over the years I have seen countless postcards featuring churches with the wrong town written in the caption, such is their similarity.

The pistrice is a legendary mythical creature, half fish, half dragon, that has become a symbol of Positano, representing the town and its mysterious mythology for centuries. The creature is depicted on a beautiful medieval bas-relief on the main bell tower of the Chiesa Madre, neatly placed above the entrance. Some say this creature characterises the blend of land and sea activities of the town. In fact, the villagers often joke in a slightly contemptuous way about the montanaro (mountain dwellers), who live so close to the sea but are unable to even swim! From what I have seen, the montanaro are not the slightest bit interested they love their land and mountains and rarely bother to come down to the more touristy seaside.

Like many places in this area, the origins of Positano have become a mix of fact and fiction, history and legend. The Greeks and Phoenicians most likely visited this area first as they travelled west many centuries ago. During the time of the Roman Empire, Positano served an important purpose for the emperor Tiberius, exiled on the nearby island of Capri. He believed the masses despised him so much that they wanted him dead, so he would send his men up the coast to Positano to obtain safe flour to bake his bread. Positano was also a popular holiday spot for the nobles of the time, evidenced by the ruins of a Roman villa on the Galli Islands, just a few kilometres offshore from Positano, and recent archaeological discoveries of another magnificent villa beneath the town, that was most likely covered with ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

With the fall of the Roman Empire, Positano became a part of the independent Maritime Republic of Amalfi, that soon accumulated great wealth through its burgeoning trade with other countries in the Mediterranean. The affluence of the Positanese brought attacks from pirates and neighbouring states, and by the fifteenth century, the town had fortified itself with three magnificent protective towers.

For over two centuries, Positano enjoyed a reputation as one of the great boat-building regions of the country. It was called the Golden Mountain as it was the richest area within reach of Naples, and by the 1700s was also known as a regia citta (director city) for its importance in the south. It was around this time that the wonderful baroque villas, many of them still standing today, were built into the side of the mountain and furnished with great treasures bought back from all over the world.

The unification of Italy in the mid-nineteenth century forced large numbers of Positanese to migrate to America, many of whom ended up in the heart of New York City, where they set up life alla Positanese Positano-style. Today, there are more Positanese living in New York than there are in Positano. At the start of the twentieth century, the era of the Grand Tour, travellers from all over the world started to disembark on these shores. At the end of World War II, many of the American and English servicemen who had spent time in this area returned home singing the praises of its beauty and serenity and the word was out. Modern-day tourism soon arrived in Positano, with a massive influx of overseas visitors in the 1950s and 1960s cementing the towns status as one of the worlds most popular holiday destinations.

The pistrice is a legendary mythical creature, half fish, half dragon, that has become a symbol of Positano, representing the town and its mysterious mythology for centuries. The creature is depicted on a beautiful medieval bas-relief (above) on the main bell tower of the Chiesa Madre, neatly placed above the entrance. Some say this creature characterises the blend of land and sea activities of the town. In fact, the villagers often joke in a slightly contemptuous way about the montanaro (mountain dwellers), who live so close to the sea but are unable to even swim! From what I have seen, the montanaro are not the slightest bit interested they love their land and mountains and rarely bother to come down to the more touristy seaside.

Positano has long been a magnet for the cognoscenti and glitterati from all over the world. In the early 1920s and 30s, the town harboured such important figures as renowned writers Misha Semenov and Essad Bey, the architect and writer Gilbert Clavel, the Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher and the well-known Polish ceramicist and fabric designer Irene Kowaliska. The immense beauty of the landscape and the relative isolation of the town at this time made it a haven of peace and tranquillity for these creative souls.

Later, as Positanos popularity grew, many writers, artists and film directors visited this magical coastline, and some chose to stay and make their home here. The town attracted names like Henri Matisse, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Franco Zeffirelli, Rudolf Nureyev, Eduardo de Filippo and Roberto Rossellini, plus scores of other famous movie stars and musicians, all of whom have helped to put Positano on the map.