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Ciao Amalfi Coast Travel Cathedral of Amalfi

PHOTOGRAPHY · April 11, 2014

Foto Friday: The Duomo in My Dreams

I woke up this morning just after sunrise but before the alarm beeped the beginning of a new day. I'm a morning person, even on the mornings when my body feels like starting a little bit slower. Even before I had moved, my brain was fighting its way through the fog of sleep and when I woke up it was ...

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Amalfi Coast Travel Ravello Walk

TRAVEL · March 17, 2014

Bends, Curves and Checks in Ravello

There is a staircase I follow often to visit family that leads from the main piazza of Ravello, through and under the Villa Rufulo and past two churches. The first church is the much photographed Chiesa della SS. Annunziata. But my favorite view of it is the one you see above, which is so nicely ...

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Ciao Amalfi San Biagio Church Amalfi

PHOTOGRAPHY · January 31, 2014

Foto Friday: San Biagio in Amalfi

This week's photo shows one of my favorite spots in Amalfi where you can see how the buildings were built right into and around the mountains. I love how they're all stacked up on top of one another! At the top of the heap is the Church of San Biagio (or Saint Blaise). The zigzag staircase leads to ...

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HISTORY & CULTURE · August 11, 2012

Memoriae | Igor Mitoraj Ravello Festival Exhibition

Every year the Ravello Festival is centered around a theme running through the art exhibitions, concerts and cultural events that take place during the summer.  Memory is the theme of the 2012 Ravello Festival and the current exhibition Memoriae, Mitoraj a Ravello. The monumental sculptural works of ...

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TRAVEL · July 16, 2012

Hurrying Up and Waiting on the Amalfi Coast

I grew up hearing the motto "hurry up and wait" often, and we did in fact do a lot of waiting when I was a kid. It was a habit passed down by my grandfather from his days in the Navy to my mother growing up on a small family farm in rural Nebraska. It's a habit I've been grateful for over the years, ...

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LIFESTYLE · July 29, 2011

Photo Friday: Salve

I pass this whitewashed entrance to a house on my usual walk, and every time the work "Salve" painted above the doorway catches my eye. This common expression of greeting in Italian simply means "hello," but I always wonder about it as I pass by. I've never seen anyone coming or going, there are ...

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PHOTOGRAPHY · July 22, 2011

Photo Friday: The View from the Top

I haven't been to Capri yet this year, but I'm itching to go! The island is stunning in so many ways, and it's one of my favorite spots in the area for taking photographs. I took this photo of the dome of the Santo Stefano Church at the end of last summer, and I don't believe I've shared it here ...

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LIFESTYLE · March 23, 2011

Coming Home Again to Amalfi

One of the small pleasures of going away is coming home again. When you love the place where you live, it becomes like an old friend that you haven't seen in awhile. You notice, perhaps, how they're wearing their hair in a new way or the new glasses. With a town like Amalfi, it's the small details ...

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PHOTOGRAPHY · March 18, 2011

Photo Friday: Amalfi at Sunset

A couple of weeks before I left Italy for this trip to America, I walked for the first time along the Via Maestra dei Villagi, an ancient footpath that connects Amalfi with the hamlets of Pastena, Lone, Vettica and high up in the mountains to Tovere and Pogerola. We walked it at sunset from Lone ...

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PHOTOGRAPHY · January 7, 2011

Photo Friday: Architectural Layers

The architecture of the Amalfi Coast is endlessly fascinating to me, and the Duomo of Salerno is one of my favorite spots in Campania. I took this photo in the beautiful atrium looking up to the 12th-century bell tower. To learn more and see more photos (including one of the crypt you won't want to ...

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PHOTOGRAPHY · December 10, 2010

Photo Friday: The Fearful Fountain

Usually, the photos I pick out each week for Photo Friday jump out to me. Often they're nice memories from an event or something that I've done over the past weeks or months. Other times I scan through my photos and nothing seems quite right. This one, however, is perfect for this week. It's been ...

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PHOTOGRAPHY · November 26, 2010

Photo Friday: Watching Over Amalfi

I don't think I'll ever tire of taking photographs of Amalfi's Duomo of Sant' Andrea. There's something so intriguing to me about the design and its situation at the top of the grand staircase watching over all the activity in the town's main piazza. While walking down the 62 steps a few weeks ago, ...

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My name is Laura and the Amalfi Coast is my passion and my home. I’m a writer and photographer who is endlessly inspired by the incredible beauty of the Amalfi Coast. Welcome to Ciao Amalfi!

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The 66th Regata delle Antiche Repubbliche Marinare The 66th Regata delle Antiche Repubbliche Marinare is here! This weekend is full of exciting events as the Regatta of the Ancient Maritime Republics returns to Amalfi after 6 years. This event sees teams from Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, and Venice compete in a boat race in historic galleons as well as a historic parade. Stay tuned for photos and videos from the parade today and the boat race tomorrow. Forza Amalfi! 💙

#amalfi #amalficoast #ciaoamalfi #visitamalfi #italyhistory #italytravel
Last month I did a mini staycation in Positano and Last month I did a mini staycation in Positano and I loved it! Even though it’s just down the coast from Amalfi, I enjoyed the quiet of the early morning and breakfast with those famous Positano views. And a relaxed dinner without a long (and twisty!) drive home. This view from above Arienzo beach is one of my favorites of Positano.

#positano #amalficoast #positanoitaly #amalficoastitaly #costieraamalfitana #italytravel #positanoview #arienzo #amalficoastview #ciaoamalfi
That this place is just down the coastline is stil That this place is just down the coastline is still a marvel to me. Yesterday morning the colors in Positano were brilliant. 💙

#Positano #AmalfiCoast #ciaoamalfi #amalficoastitaly #positanoitaly #amalficoastbeaches #positanobeach #positanoview #positanoamalficoast #expatlife #italyexpat #italyexpatlife #italytravel #italyiloveyou
You know that feeling when you’re walking around You know that feeling when you’re walking around with something weighing on your mind? I didn’t even realize that’s what I’ve been doing until I had a follow up exam yesterday and got the all clear. At the same office in Amalfi where this whole journey with breast cancer began last June. I took a different sort of walk afterwards and that cloud over Amalfi made me laugh a bit. All clear! Float away little cloud of worry that has been following me around. Vattene! 🌬
After Flavio Gioia, the next natural stop for the After Flavio Gioia, the next natural stop for the #AmalfiCoastCompass series is the Arsenale, where the galleys and ships were built and repaired during the Republic of Amalfi. Just a few steps from Piazza Flavio Gioia, the Arsenale is the only medieval shipyard in Italy to have survived intact. Dating back to the 11th century, its two long aisles with stone cross vaults and pointed arches creates an evocative space.

Today the beautifully restored Arsenale is the setting for art exhibitions and cultural events. Yesterday was the opening for Kerameikos (April 8 - May 10, 2022), an exhibition of contemporary Vietri ceramic arts curated by professor and art critic Massimo Bignardi and organized by @agarte_fucinadellearti. The show brings together 160 works by four master ceramicists from the Amalfi Coast: Salvatore Autuori, Vincenzo Caruso, Giuseppe Di Muro, and Ferdinando Vassallo.

Take a look through the photos to see a glimpse of the exhibit. Second photo: I loved the bright colors and geometric shapes of Salvatore Autuori's work. Third photo: beautiful historical elements in pieces by Giuseppe Di Muro. Fourth photo: look closely at the textures from nature in Ferdinando Vassallo's ceramic series. Fifth photo: the mix of colors in this vase by Enzo Caruso was stunning in person.

The exhibit is free to visit and is open from 10am-1pm/ 4pm-4pm Wednesday to Sunday. For more information check out www.arsenalediamalfi.it.
It’s already back to rainy in Amalfi, but yester It’s already back to rainy in Amalfi, but yesterday was something splendid when the sun came out. Colors quite like this don’t come along with the storms. I’ll take it all!
One of the first things I noticed about the Amalfi One of the first things I noticed about the Amalfi Coast was that I had a lot of questions. It was unlike any place I had ever been. Just over 15 years later, I still have plenty of questions and am constantly seeing new things. This place really has taught me to slow down and look closer.

With that spirit, I’m starting a new series called #AmalfiCoastCompass where I’ll show you places you might have missed, things you might have wondered about, and ideas for your next trip to the Amalfi Coast.

There’s no better place to start the Compass Series than with this statue in Amalfi. Have you noticed it before in the middle of Piazza Flavio Gioia? It’s a statue of Flavio Gioia, a figure from the 13th century credited with inventing the compass for sailing. He stands holding a bussola, or compass, gazing intently downward at the instrument in his left hand while his right points forward. 

While the existence of this particular mariner is questionable, what is sure is that Amalfi was Italy’s first maritime republic and its sailors not only crisscrossed the Mediterranean and traveled as far east as Constantinople but also created maritime codes that were used for centuries. So while the exact creator or individuals behind the perfection of the compass for navigational use will likely never be known, the statue represents Amalfi’s contribution to travel as we know it today. 

This statue was created by Alfonso Balzico, an Italian sculptor born in 1825 in Cava de' Tirreni - not far from Vietri sul Mare on the Amalfi Coast. He studied in Naples and created many important statues around Italy. His statue of Flavio Gioia was created in 1892 and won a gold medal at the 1900 World Exposition in Paris. (Flavio Gioia was still getting around the world!) It was on display in Rome after Balzico's death in 1901 until the city of Amalfi acquired the statue and it was placed in Piazza Flavio Gioia in 1926. It’s been moved a couple of times (at least) but now it’s located in the center of the traffic circle surrounded by a fountain and little landscaped garden. And one last little curiosity: the statue of Flavio Gioia is oriented facing north.
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