Yesterday evening my boyfriend came home with a newspaper and said, “You have to see what happened in Vietri.” When I first came to the Amalfi Coast in February 2007, I stayed at the Lloyd’s Baia Hotel in Vietri sul Mare. Like many hotels along the Amalfi Coast, it is attached right to the cliff side above the sea. When you enter the lobby of the Lloyd’s Baia at street level, you are at the very top of the hotel. My Mom and I were amused when we were given our room number on floor negative 4. The hotel has a nice beach and pool area, which is thankfully accessed by an elevator. I always think fondly of this hotel since it reminds me of my first visit here two years ago. Here’s what we read in the newspaper yesterday:

There has been a major landslide in the past two days at the Hotel Lloyd’s Baia, where a mass of rocks has collapsed just next to the elevator down to the beach. The large mass fell right on the pool area, but very fortunately didn’t injure the workers in the area and the people enjoying the sun on the beach nearby. Reading about this just now, I learned the Italian expression colpo di fortuna, which means a stroke of luck. Indeed! You can read more about it here at Positano News and here at Il Mattino (sorry – only in Italian), and here are a couple of photos showing the collapse:

Photos: www.ilmattino.it

Very serious! Everything at the hotel seems to be structurally sound and safe, but the pool and beach area are understandably closed. I will keep you all posted on what I hear about this going forward.