Positano

Positano
Why Visit
Positano is a small fishing village located on the Amalfi Coast. It lies between Salerno and Amalfi. It
offers stunning views and excellent beaches and it is a popular holiday resort of the coast, visited by
many tourists and boats.
History - Architecture
Positano was a holiday resort during Roman times, as evidenced by the discovery of a villa under the
church of Santa Maria Assunta. Later on, during the Early Middle Ages, it was a port of the Republic
of Amalfi. It prospered during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries but by the nineteenth century
it fell on hard times. Its population emigrated. It remained a small and relatively poor fishing village
until the 1950s. It began to attract large number of tourists and today it is one of the most popular
holiday resorts in the Amalfi Coast.
Museums - Archaeological
The Middle Ages saw the construction of several towers for the sighting of the Saracens, the authors
of numerous incursions and raids against the local population. The first tower is located outside the
town of Positano, at Punta Campanella. From there, it spotted the Arabs, they threw the first signal,
a cannon shot, and then the tom tom was moved to the second, then third and so on, along Positano
and the Amalfi Coast. In this way, the inhabitants of Positano could take refuge on the steep hills.
Beaches
The beach of Arienzo lies just a few minutes out of Positano. The descent from the coastal road to
the beach is a path of great natural beauty, that takes you through a luxuriant vegetation in which a
few villas are immersed.
Fiumicello Beach is a secluded beach reachable only by boat, it's a nice, solitary spot for those
wanting to get away from the crowds. Fiumicello beach ("little river") gets its name from the stream
that flows from the narrow gorge. The beach backs into a crevice in the rock. While a staircase leads
down to it, it is locked and open only to private clients of a club. Since there is very limited access
and few know to hire a boat to come here, it is a very uncrowded beach.
The Fornillo beach is famous for its beauty. It has also been immortalized by great painters, like
Peter Ruta and Depero; loved by Cocteu and Pablo Picasso; favourite shelter of dozens of VIPs.
La Calcara beach is a pebble beach is about fifty meters. Its southern exposure keeps it sunny until
early afternoon. It's a lovely setting with a strip of sand, next to the old quarry, where you'll see
fishing boats resting on the shore.
La Porta Beach is a wide and deep beach by Amalfi Coast standards, with pebbles instead of sand,
like most of the swimming spots here. Despite it's lovely location very close to Positano, it's never
crowded. That's because it's reachable only by boat. But the ferry that leaves from the Spiaggia
Grande will bring you here without a hassle, and it's much nicer and quieter than the overcrowded
beaches in town.
The Laurito Beach was in the past, this small cove was the starting point for the pirates to raid
commercial boats. Nowadays, it's the launching pad for a day of sun, surf and seafood. Laurito is a
closely guarded secret. The small beach is surprisingly uncrowded, though you'll find a sunny,
pebbly cove with beach chairs to rent and two restaurants to enjoy. There are pretty panoramas of
pastel Positano to take in while sunbathing, making it a really nice perch for the day.
Le Grottelle Beach is a secluded spot near Positano, about 2 1/2 kilometers from town. It's accessible
by a pathway that leads down the cliff from the road to nearby Marinella della Calcara. It's name
comes from from the small natural caves that lie at the base of the cliff. The beach is tucked between
high, beautiful rock walls. While it's a challenge to get to, when you arrive you'll find a private oasis
with few other people and a pristine setting.
The Marina di Tordigliano has 350 meters of seafront space and it is one of the largest on the Amalfi
Coast. Here beaches tend to be little patched of sand between rock crevices. Marina di Tordigliano
is bigger, and more beautiful because it's left in a natural state. It is uncontaminated and
undeveloped; it's also uncrowded, in part because of the effort needed to descend (and then climb up
again!) the trail that leads down 170 vertical meters from the road. A better way to arrive might be
to hire a boat to shuttle you there. The beach is capped with green conifers and lapped by gentle
waters.
The Spiaggia Grande (the "large beach") is the main beach of Positano, as well as the center for
many of the activities of the village.
Torre di Clavel Beach is an enchanting little seaside spot below the remains of the 16th century
watch tower that was known as Torre Fornillo, until it was renamed for Count Clavel Gilbert, a Swiss
nobleman and writer who restored it early in the last century. The tower and its cute stone staircase
provide a beautiful backdrop to the beach.
The Varo Ferola Beach is named for the district outside of Positano in which it's situated. It is a
pebble beach that is fairly unknown. It's tucked between rock outcroppings; to the right side are two
natural, graceful rock arches. It's about 400 meters after Punta Germano. The southwest exposure
means it gets sun all morning until early afternoon.
Religious Monasteries and Churches
The Church of St Maria Assunta in Positano used to be a great example of Medieval art, whose
history was deeply bound with the Benedictine monastery of St Maria. According to the legend the
monastery was erected in honour of a Byzantine icon representing the Virgin Mary, which is still
venerated by the locals.
The abbey had a certain prestige until the first half of the XV century, when the last Benedictine
abbot Antonio Acciappaccia di Sorrento and his monks, tired of being robbed by violent plunderers
coming from the Cilento coast, left the monastery.
A few years later the church was assigned to Nicola Miroballi, commendatory abbot and later named
archbishop of Amalfi. Apart from some exceptions, the "commendatory abbots age" was generally
fateful: in spite of the restoration works made at the beginning of the XVII century, the church went
gradually to ruins. The local clergy deprived the last commendatory abbot, Liborio Marra, of his
power and started the real restoration works in 1777. The works finally ended in 1783, and the
Virgin's icon was crowned with a gold crown.
Very probably the Benedictine monks, who run on board of their ships across commercial and fishing
routes all along the south of Italy, carried the Byzantine icon in Positano during the XII century. A
small parchment, preserved into the church archive, reports that Giovanni II Bishop of Amalfi in
1159, dedicated the church to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The legend says instead, that a prodigious phenomenon brought the icon to Positano. It was part of a
sailing ship coming from the East that, landed in Positano, got into a dead calm and stopped there.
After numerous attempts to go on, at some point the sailors heard a voice saying: "rest, rest". The
captain interpreted that prodigy as the want of the Virgin to stay there and decided to land. At that
point the ship started moving again. Once landed the sailors gave the icon to the locals, who erected
a temple in honour of the Virgin and elected her Patron of the village.
The current look of the church dates back to the last restoration works, finished in 1783. St Maria
Assunta has a nave and two side aisles, five side arches and chapels. Walking from the entrance to
the high altar, follow one another the chapels of St Biagio, Immacolata, St Antonio and St Anna. On
the right end you will admire the Circumcision altar with a beautiful painting made by Fabrizio
Santafede, in 1599. On the right side of the high altar you will find the Chapel of St Stefano, that
preserves the eighteenth-century ligneous statue representing the Virgin with the Infant Jesus.
The Byzantine icon, recently restored, stands just above the altar. Beside the apse you will see the
solid walnut chorus, whose ends preserve the ‘Addolorata’ on the right and a precious ‘Cristo alla
Colonna’, oeuvre by Michele Trillocco (1798) on the left.
Close by the transept there is the Altar dedicated to Madonna del Carmine, with a marvellous
painting coming from the Charterhouse of Serra St Bruno in Calabria. Walking on to the exit, along
the left aisle, take a few minutes to be enchanted by the chapels of Crocefisso, Annunziata, San Vito
and St Nicola di Bari.
The chancel with a majestic organ is located just above the central portal. Rightwards, a small room
homes a lovely christening font. The arch between the right aisle and transept shows a stunning
bas-relief (maybe an old St Vito’s reliquary) dated back to 1506. In front of it there is a grave stone
to commemorate Pirro Giovanni Campanile, Neapolitan priest elected commendatory abbot. The
stone is surmounted by a notable bas-relief representing the abbot’s coat of arms. A few steps far
from the church courtyard rises the splendid bell-tower (1707), built at the hand of a Capuchin friar,
who was commemorated in a grave stone fragment, located onto the external wall of the church
along Via Vito Savino.
Above the bell-tower door, there is a walled bas-relief dating back to the Middle Ages, and just above
the bas-relief you will notice a grave stone placed there in 1902, in order to commemorate Flavio
Gioia, the man who invented the compass.
Gallery