Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, and Amalfi

Our tour on Sunday, September 1, 2013... Last May, as those of you who regularly read this travel blog might recall, we took a cruise that stopped in Naples. At that time we visited the magnificent Royal Palace of Capodimonte. On this cruise we decided to take a full day’s excursion driving along the Amalfi Coast. We left early in the morning at 8 AM and returned at 5 PM. Our first major stop was in Sorrento, where we had free time to see some beautiful Baroque churches, shops and the great Hotel Excelsior, where the famed tenor Enrico Caruso died around 1928. From there our bus traveled along the sea coast passing through Positano and many other charming towns, on the way to Amalfi. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant with a magnificent view of the coast (see photo) and enjoyed cannelloni, a baked chicken dish and an apricot tart all washed down with sparkling prosecco and a white wine from this region. Then we drove into Amalfi where we had a lengthy stop. We toured the magnificent Cathedral complex. It combines several major buildings: a Moorish bell tower, a Medieval cloister, the 12th century Romanesque Basilica, the ornate Baroque crypt, and the Cathedral itself, which was also decorated in the Baroque style in the 18th century. Vast steps lead to the Cathedral, and this is a unique site on the Amalfi coast. Amalfi in the Middle Ages traded with Constantinople and the orient, so it enjoyed the privilege of being a maritime Republic. We shopped after we left the cathedral. Jim bought ceramics and a new, embroidered shirt. From Salerno we then drove back to Naples, ending a day in a uniquely beautiful part of southern Italy.—Dan

View from the terrace of the Excelsior Hotel in Sorrento with Mt. Vesuvius in the background

The port at Amalfi

The great cathedral complex in Amalfi

The baroque interior of the cathedral at Alamfi

View of Alamfi

Dan & Jim Along the Alamfi Coast