Positano is part of the Salerno province and it is the most famous and fascinating city of the Costiera Amalfitana. It is characterized by winding and narrow streets full of steps and majolica.

In the urban centre there are elegant and coloured shops with their unique style called “Positano Fashion”.  This city is vertically organized following the hills side that arrives to the see. All the houses are very closed among them being characterized by bright various colours. The general image is which one of a multicoloured city.

 

Positano is also famous for the presence in its territory of elegant and refined houses and villas where very important historical people spent their holiday.

Its inlets are full of famous beaches as the “Spiaggia Grande” (the “Big Beach”) that is the biggest one and equipped with a small port. This beach like which one of Fornillo are reachable by foot thanks to steps that will lead you from the top of the city to its bottom.

The other smaller Positano’s beaches are La Porta, Arienzo and San Pietro Laureto that can be reached by the sea thanks to the Metrò del Mare: an hydrofoils service that connects the most important ports and beaches of the Campania’s costs.

 

On the sea you can admire “Li Galli” or “Sirenuse” that is a little archipelago made up by three small islands:  the Gallo Lungo, the Rotonda and the Castelluccio that have always been considered the mythical residence of sirens.

 

If you love excursions you can visit some striking areas of the Lattari hills that surround this city. Not so far there is Monteparnuso where there was the Holy Mary’s apparition in a rocks hole. From this point you can rise on a staircase that will lead you to Nocelle. This is exactly the initial point of the “Sentiero degli Dei” (the “Gods Path”) where you can admire unique and unforgettable landscapes of the whole coast. Through the cost you can also reach the beautiful Punta San Pietro where there is the namesake church. You can even reach the highest hill of Sant’Angelo a Tre Pizzi at an altitude of more than 1400 metres.

 

Positano is not just famous for the beauty of its beaches but also for the importance of its history: this city is full of churches and of ancient monuments that deserve your attention: first of all, for example, on the central  Flavio Gioia square, not so far from the Spiaggia Grande, there is the church dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta.  Here you can admire some polychrome marble altars, the mosaics ruins of the original church and a wooden Byzantine icon representing the Holy Mary with her Child. In this church there also is a bas-relief with the “Pistrice”:  a fantastic fish- dragon monster. But the most representative feature of this church is its big dome covered by coloured majolica that is visible from all parts of the city. In the sacristy there are the San Vito memorabilia that date back to the XVIth century.

 

Positano has many other churches with their own history and traditions. In the district called Liparlati there is the church of San Giacomo a Liparlati built in 1500. In Fornillo there is the church of Santa Margherita that seems to be the most ancient one in the city with its bell ornamented with the figure of the Addolorata and of the Madonna delle Grazie. In the hamlet of Montepertuso there is the church dedicated to the Santa Maria delle Grazie and here on the 2th of July there is the celebration of the Holy Mary feast. Exactly in Positano you can admire the church of Santa Caterina a Punta Reginella characterized by its Gothic style. Finally the Chiesa Nuova or the Santa Maria delle Grazie church has a rare maiolica floor.

All the year long Positano offers a series of cultural, gastronomic and folkloristic events and town festivals like the following ones: the Positano Città Slow, the Laboratories of art, cinema and television, the Festival of the Contemporary Italian Theatre, the Positano Opera Prima, the Cartoons on the bay, the Sagra della Zeppola (Zeppola Town Festival), Sagra del Pesce (Fish Town Festival) , and the Feast of the Assunta.

How to arrive to the Costiera Amalfitana

To arrive to this coast you can use trains, buses and cars but there also are direct connections with the airports of Naples and Salerno. Obviously you can reach the coast even arriving by car.

By Plain:

• The closest airport is which one of Pontecagnano inaugurated in September 2008. It is 40 minutes far from Salerno being connected to international and national cities. Coming from Salerno you can reach the Costiera Amalfitana going through the highway Reggio Calabria-Salerno until the Vietri sul Mare exit. After that,  you should go on through the winding and panoramic free road SS 163.
• Arriving to the Naples airport (well-known as the airport of Capodichino) you can reach the Costiera Amalfitana by train or by the hydrofoils service called the “Metrò del Mare” . To arrive to the urban centre from Capodichino there is the Alibus service: from 06:30 a.m. to 23:30 p.m. this bus will bring you both to the railway station (where you can take the train to reach Salerno) and to the stazione Marittima of Piazza Municipio where you can catch the hydrofoil. Its ticket costs € 3 and lasts 90 minutes: during this period of time you can also use other transport of the metropolitan service. Hydrofoils leave every 30 minutes and the ticket can be bought on board.

By Train:

To arrive to the Costiera Amalfitana by train the better solution is to arrive to the Salerno railway station. Here you can find the SITA buses that will bring you to the main cities of the coast. However if you prefer to arrive in Naples from the railway station of this city you can arrive to Salerno through the railway lines called “Circumvesuviana”. From Salerno you can catch the SITA buses for the main cities of the Costiera.

By Car or Motor bike:

Arriving from the North, after having travelled through the A2 highway Milan-Naples, you should go through the A3 highway Naples-Salerno until the Vietri Sul Mare exit. Then you should go through the freeway SS163. Coming from the South, you should go on the Reggio Calabria-Salerno highway towards Naples until the Vietri Sul Mare exit. Then you should go through the freeway SS163.  Coming from the East you should go through the A16 highway Bari-Naples, then the A3 Naples-Salerno until Vietri Sul Mare. Then you should go through the freeway SS163.

By Boats:

To arrive to the Costiera by the sea there is the hydrofoils service called the “Metrò del Mare”that provides you with rapid naval lines that connect Naples to the main ports of the Costiera Amalfitana and Sorrentina. From the 23th of April to the 8th of September the hydrofoil leaves only once at 8:25 a.m. and the trip will last more or less two hours. From the 30th of May to the 7th of September the hydrofoil leaves three times from Naples: two times during the morning and one time during the afternoon and the ticket costs 15€.

…Enjoy your stay in Positano!

Related Articles:

The Assunta Feast in Positano

The Sagra del Pesce in Positano

The Sagra della Zeppola in Positano

Events in Positano

Cartoons on the Positano Bay

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