Ciao! I'm Laura.
  • Journal
  • About
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Journal
  • Books
  • Podcast
  • About
    • Writing
  • Contact

Ciao Amalfi

Amalfi Coast Travel Rainy View

LIFESTYLE · April 19, 2014

Easter Weekend Errands

This morning we set out early to do some shopping for Easter lunch before the shops got too crowded. As Easter is really the kick off to the tourist season on the Amalfi Coast, we also hopped to beat some of the traffic. We got through the shopping at the fruit and vegetable shop (line not too bad), ...

View the Post

TRAVEL · May 18, 2012

Signs of Summer on the Amalfi Coast

Maybe it's the Nebraska girl in me, but few things capture the feeling of summer quite like watermelon. Yesterday I stopped into one of my favorite fruit and vegetable shops in Amalfi. The couple ahead of me had asked for a piece of anguria (watermelon), and the woman in the shop was busy cutting ...

View the Post

FOOD & DRINK · March 10, 2012

Recipe for Pasta e Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)

What's your favorite Italian dish? That's one of the questions I'm asked most often when visiting family and friends back in America. When I say pasta with chickpeas, the response is usually one of surprise or interest. I've always loved chickpeas, but I had never enjoyed them cooked in such a ...

View the Post

FOOD & DRINK · December 7, 2011

Picking Mandarin Oranges in Amalfi

When they're ready, word begins to spread through the family. The mandarini—mandarin oranges—are ready! This is a moment I wait for eagerly each December, when the mandarins are ready to be picked in Vettica. If you've traveled around the Amalfi Coast, or small towns most anywhere in Italy, you've ...

View the Post

FOOD & DRINK · June 15, 2011

Granita di Limone in Amalfi

The Amalfi Coast is famous for its wonderful lemons, and there are so many ways to enjoy them during the summer. Now in Amalfi there is a new way - a Granita di Limone - served up with a friendly smile by Andrea. While his cart says "Gelato al Limone," what Andrea has whipped up is a very refreshing ...

View the Post

FOOD & DRINK · May 11, 2011

Eat your way through Calabria

Many of the regular readers of Ciao Amalfi will remember my friend Cherrye Moore from My Bella Vita who has contributed many guest posts about the beautiful beaches of Calabria - the region in southern Italy she calls home. If you follow her blog, you already know about Cherrye's passion for sharing ...

View the Post

FOOD & DRINK · April 6, 2011

Lunch at Amalfi’s Bar Gran Caffè

After a long winter on the Amalfi Coast, it's hard to stay inside when the warm weather finally arrives in the spring. This is the time of year when it's warmer outside most days than inside the old stone houses on the coast. When the sun shines in Amalfi, it's an easy choice to stay out and enjoy ...

View the Post

LIFESTYLE · March 8, 2011

Buon Carnevale 2011!

It's Carnevale time in Italy, and for the first time in two years I'm missing Carnival on the Amalfi Coast due to my travels in America. While I'm not a big fan of the dressing up or dodging silly string wars going on between the local kids (or wondering where all that confetti ends up ...), I don't ...

View the Post

FOOD & DRINK · February 4, 2011

Know your pasta!

What kind of pasta is on your plate? by Charming Italy Earlier this week, CharmingItaly.com shared a fun infographic chart to help you learn about the 100s of different types of pasta shapes in Italy. It's really charming, and made me laugh quite a few times as I worked my way through it! This is ...

View the Post

FOOD & DRINK · December 1, 2010

Where Woman Cook: Mamma Agata New York City Event!

I have great news to share with those of you reading from the New York City area! My dear friend Chiara Lima from the Mamma Agata Cooking School on the Amalfi Coast in Ravello will be returning to your area on December 10th for an exciting event at Chelsea Market (75 Ninth Avenue, between 15th & ...

View the Post

LIFESTYLE · November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving from the Amalfi Coast!

While Thanksgiving Day isn't a holiday in Italy, many Italians do know about the holiday. Here it is called il giorno del ringraziamento, which literally translates as "the day of  thanksgiving." As an expat, it is always hard to be away from family on important holidays. I feel this even more so ...

View the Post

FOOD & DRINK · November 1, 2010

Cookbook Review: My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino

It is my pleasure this week to welcome fellow southern Italy expat blogger Cherrye Moore to share about a new cookbook. Cherrye writes often at her blog My Bella Vita about the beautiful region of Calabria where she lives, and this week she is here to tell us about a new cookbook called My Calabria: ...

View the Post

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next →

Trending Now

  • ciao-amalfi-winter-things-to-do Visiting the Amalfi Coast in the Winter – 5 Things You Need to Know
  • Amalfi Coast Webcams New Live Streaming Webcams of Amalfi!
  • Amalfi Coast Travel Positano Beach Spiagga Grande A Guide to the Beaches of Positano
  • Amalfi Coast Beaches Colourful Sun Umbrellas at the Marina Grande Beach in Amalfi - Horizontal A Guide to the Beaches of Amalfi

Ciao!

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!

Ciao Amalfi

  • Journal
  • Moon Amalfi Coast
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

Amalfi Coast

  • Amalfi
  • Positano
  • Ravello
  • Amalfi Coast

Explore

  • Travel
  • History & Culture
  • Food & Drink
  • Shopping

Laura Thayer

  • About
  • Writing
  • Book Reviews
  • Work with Me

Latest on Instagram

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.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Disclosure

Copyright © 2022 Ciao Amalfi · Theme by 17th Avenue