Tourists from all over the world travel to Italy specifically to visit the Amalfi Coast. The coast offers a wide variety of treasures and it is a traveler's delight. I traveled by train from Naples to Sorrento, which serves as a good starting point to explore the Amalfi coast. Sorrento is a beautiful coastal town overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and is known for its panoramic views.
Basilica Sant’Antonio is the oldest church here named after the patron saint of Sorrento, who rescued a child from the mouth of a whale (as per popular belief). In the basilica lobby, there are two whale bones, placed as a homage to this rescue. The Sorrento cathedral is also worth visiting. There are numerous churches located throughout Amalfi, many of them were built on cliff sides & have now been converted to shops and hotels. To show off their status, most nobles families built a church of their own in the early history of Amalfi
If you have time, one can visit the beautiful O’Parruchiano restaurant, the place where cannelloni (pasta dish) was invented. The restaurant is a popular Amalfi Coast wedding venue. It’s a beautiful place by day and at night when you can dine under the stars.
The lemons are one of the most distinguishing features of the Amalfi, as the production is abundant along the coast. Called the Stusato d’ Amalfi, they are massive fruits which are vital to prevent seasickness for sailors taking long trips. One of the best places to buy limoncello in Sorrento is Giardini di Cataldo. It is a family owned business who produce many delicious lemon flavored goods including liqueurs, jams, marmalades and lemon gelato. After all that lemon, I take out time to taste Cannolis (pastries) - it is always a good idea to have them, wherever you may be in Italy.
Corso Italia is the main street in Sorrento. There are many boutiques lining this busy Sorrento road, as well as ice cream parlours such as Momi Gelateria (delightful). You can stroll all the way down Corso Italia to Piazza Tasso, or explore some of the cobbled little alleyways off the street. It is always better to visit Amalfi for a few days, so that one can take day trips from Sorrento to Capri, Salerno or Ischia.
Ceramics is one of the most ancient forms of art, and the Amalfi coast was popular for its major centres in the production of ceramics. There are small souvenir stores off the main streets which are worth exploring. But, my attention gets diverted soon enough as I spot a football shop nearby.
There are jewels to be discovered like the Gallery Celentano. Specializing in Italian photography, this gallery showcases the work of Raffaele Celentano and others from the the Sorrento International Photo School. His gallery has a charming roof terrace, with a swing overlooking the Bay of Naples and a cut out car that you can sit in for photos. It’s a nice place to see the sunset in Sorrento.
After all this time in the little nooks and corners, I felt the need to explore seaside. Leonelli’s Beach takes its name from the Leonelli family who have run this bathing establishment for three generations. Next to the Port of Sorrento, the color of the water is an incredible turquoise blue. As well as the beach, there are several terraces with deckchairs, sunbeds, cabins and beach umbrellas for hire. They all have stairs leading directly into the sea.
The ancient Romans and Greeks built defensive walls around the city of Sorento. Over hundreds of years these walls became taller and taller creating spectacular views towards the picturesque island of Capri. Because of its steep sheer cliffs, there are no wide sandy beaches in Sorrento. Marina Grande is actually a small (despite its name meaning a large sea port) and beautiful harbour. Used by local fishermen for over 2,000 years, Marina Grande also has several good restaurants.
The sun was too much for me and I headed back towards the old town. I found a small yet charming cafe 'Marenna' (snack in the Neapolitan dialect), run by two friends Iride & Anna. Anna was a wonderful host, as she explained the various ingredients to me and enquired my preference. She made a special sandwich (not from the menu) for me, all the while carrying out a conversation with such effortless ease. I simply loved the sandwiches and the pizza bread was amazing. I cannot recall eating a sandwich as good as this in a long time. Unfortunately, my stomach was full and my heart wanted more!
I walked around for a little while and admired the coastal views. After some time, I took the train back to Naples, where I spent a few hours before taking the night train to Rome.
Naples, also known as Napoli, has an interesting history that spans back nearly 3,000 years to the ancient Greeks who founded the Naples area. Since then, this southern Italian city has gone through countless transformations and has been under the rule of the Roman Empire, the Barbarians, Spain, and Austria, to name a few.
Day trip options from Naples include a hike to Mount Vesuvius (volcano) or visiting the ruins of Pompeii & Herculaneum. Within Napoli, one can visit the National Archaeological Museum, Bourbon Tunnel, Castel Nuovo, Castel dell'Ovo, the Naples Harbour, Royal Palace and Naples Cathedral etc. Due to time constraints, I could not visit all these places and had to satisfy myself with just a few hours in this remarkable city.
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