art

Pairings Every Wine Lover Should Know Before Ordering

The Costa d’Amalfi DOC has only been around since 1995, but the vineyards it covers have been worked by hand for centuries. Grapes grow on terraces so steep that mechanical equipment is useless — everything is harvested manually. That alone tells you these wines are different. Emily’s Take If you remember one thing before ordering wine in Campania, it’s this: stick with the local grapes. Falanghina with seafood, Fiano with lighter fish or pasta, Greco di Tufo with anything richer,

Read More »

Wine Grapes You Simply Won’t Find Anywhere Else

I first heard about Tintore from a winemaker in Tramonti who described it as a grape with red flesh. I thought I misheard him. But he was right — Tintore is a teinturier grape, meaning the pulp inside is red, not clear. That alone makes it unusual. But what really stopped me was when he said these same vines have been growing here for centuries, long before phylloxera wiped out most of Europe’s vineyards. And they’re still producing wine today.

Read More »

Wine Country Hiding Just Behind the Cliffs

I’d read about the Amalfi Coast’s vertical vineyards before, but nothing prepared me for the vines themselves. In Tramonti, a mountain village in the Lattari Mountains above the coast, I stood beneath grapevines that have been growing in the same spot for 150 to 200 years. They survived phylloxera — the pest that wiped out most of Europe’s vineyards in the late 19th century — because the volcanic and sandy soil here kept the root-eating aphid at bay. That’s not

Read More »

Erchie’s Beach Still Feels Like a Village Secret Even in August

I’ll admit it — I almost missed the turnoff for Erchie. It’s a narrow road winding down from the SS163 Amalfitana, easy to fly past even when you’re looking for it. Once you make the turn, the village reveals itself slowly: whitewashed houses tumbling down the slope toward a turquoise bay, with the pale stone of Torre La Cerniola watchtower marking the headland. No cars buzz past at sea level here. The ban on vehicles at the shore means you

Read More »

Positano Has a Second Beach and Almost Nobody Walks the Extra Ten Minutes

I walked past the same crowded stretch of sand three times before a local hotel clerk pointed left and said, “Vai laggiù.” That five-minute detour along a cliff-hugging path changed how I think about Positano entirely. Fornillo Beach sees roughly 30 percent fewer visitors than the main Spiaggia Grande, even though it sits only 300 meters away. – amalficoast-travel.com Emily’s Take If you are spending a full day at the beach in Positano, the extra ten minutes to Fornillo is

Read More »

A Boutique Winery Stay in Tramonti Includes Dinner You Won’t Forget

Half the tables at Tenuta San Francesco looked out over vines planted before phylloxera hit Europe. The other half watched the cook bring out pasta by hand. – winetoursearcher.com I have been writing about Italy for long enough to know that the phrase “wine tasting with dinner” often means a quick pour and a plate of indifferent cheese. Tramonti, the terraced hillside just behind the Amalfi Coast’s crowded strip, is not that place. I booked one evening at Tenuta San

Read More »

Ravello’s Second Garden Gets a Fraction of Villa Rufolo’s Visitors

I was standing on the Terrace of Infinity at Villa Cimbrone, looking out over the Mediterranean, and I could not understand why almost no one else was there. Below me, the coastline stretched toward Positano in a soft haze. Roman-style statues lined the balcony, their stone faces turned toward the same view I was staring at. It felt like a secret, even though it is one of the most famous viewpoints on the Amalfi Coast. Richard Wagner visited Villa Rufolo

Read More »

The Coastal Path Through Minori’s Ruins Doubles as a History Lesson

I remember standing in the middle of Minori’s main piazza, gelato in hand, completely unaware that the town’s most fascinating layer was hidden underground. A friend had mentioned “some old Roman ruins” before our trip, but I hadn’t looked into it. Then I saw the unassuming entrance to the Roman Villa in Minori — a first-century A.D. maritime villa discovered by chance in 1932 during a home renovation — and walked into a history lesson that completely changed how I

Read More »

Vettica’s Church Terrace Might Be the Coast’s Quietest Viewpoint

The afternoon light slants across the whitewashed wall of the Parish Church of St. Michael the Archangel, and for a long moment the only sound is a boat engine humming somewhere below. Below the terrace, the terraced cliffs of Vettica Minore drop toward the Mediterranean, and the view stretches west past the headlands toward Positano. I have the whole space to myself. This tiny hamlet, a fifteen-minute drive west of Amalfi, sees a fraction of the visitors that pack the

Read More »

Atrani’s Backstreets Are Quieter Than Anywhere Else on This Coast

I stepped into a narrow alley off Atrani’s main piazza and the noise of the coast just stopped. No scooters, no tour-bus engines, no shouting. Just the sound of laundry flapping three stories up and my own footsteps on stone. Atrani has a permanent population of about 800 people, and on a late afternoon in September, it felt like most of them were indoors. That quiet is the first thing you notice here. On the Amalfi Coast, where the road

Read More »
Load More