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LIFESTYLE · November 17, 2010

Favorite Italian Films: Rome Adventure

This week Lisa Fantino from Wanderlust Women's Travel Dreams is here to share with us about one of her Favorite Italian Films. It's perfect for those of you who love old films, love Italy and love traveling vicariously through movies. (Yes, yes ... and yes!) Welcome, ...

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TRAVEL · November 9, 2010

Tempting Tuesday: Church of Santa Trinita in Florence

Anyone who knows me knows that I can't walk past a church here in Italy without stopping. And if it's open, I just have to pop my head inside. In big cities and small towns alike, so many of Italy's artistic treasures tucked away inside churches. Even if you're not usually one to stop at religious ...

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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: ...

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TRAVEL · October 26, 2010

Tempting Tuesday: Falling in Love with Florence

This week Cecil Lee, travel photographer extraordinaire, is back to tell us about Florence, another spot in Italy he fell in love with during his travels earlier this year. And since I just visited there for the first time this past spring, I know what it's like to fall in love with the beauty of ...

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LIFESTYLE · October 20, 2010

Favorite Italian Films: Il 7 e l’8

There are days when you just need a laugh, and that's when you pull your favorite funny film off the shelf. This week Cherrye Moore from My Bella Vita is back to tell us about her favorite comic Italian film. Even if comedies aren't your first movie choice, you'll enjoy traveling to Palermo, Sicily ...

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PHOTOGRAPHY · October 15, 2010

Photo Friday: Early Morning in Florence

  Last week I was invited by Katie Greenaway over at Olio di Oliva e Sogni di Vino to write about one of my favorite photos. I chose this one from my trip to Florence last May, because it reminds me of the beautiful moments I spent watching the city come to life each morning. If you're looking for ...

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LIFESTYLE · October 13, 2010

Favorite Italian Films: La Meglio Gioventu

I've been having fun traveling around Italy with the Favorite Italian Films series. And getting some great new additions to my must see list! This week we're off on a jaunt that takes us through some of Italy's top travel destinations with Katie Greenaway from Olio di Olive e Sogni di Vino as she ...

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WRITING · October 3, 2010

Weekend Reads: “The Wedding Officer” by Anthony Capella

Is there anything better than disappearing for a weekend with a good book? I love stories that pull you in and transport you to another world, especially if that world is someplace in beautiful Italy! For Weekend Reads, Lisa Fantino from Wanderlust Women Travel is here to tell us about one of her ...

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TRAVEL · September 28, 2010

Tempting Tuesday: In Love with Venice by Cecil Lee

While Venice might not be geographically all that close to the Amalfi Coast, it is a place very close to my heart. The first time I traveled to Italy, I visited Venice and only Venice (with a little jaunt to see the Museo Ferrari in Maranello), and it was a memorable trip. For this week’s Tempting ...

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LIFESTYLE · September 22, 2010

Favorite Italian Films: La Vita è Bella

For this week’s Favorite Italian Films series, I’m pleased to welcome Cherrye Moore from My Bella Vita to share with us her favorite Italian movie … and a great language learning tip, too! Welcome, Cherrye! _________________________________________________________   Many multi-linguists—my ...

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LIFESTYLE · September 15, 2010

Favorite Italian Films: L’Ultimo Bacio

I’m happy so many readers enjoyed the first installment in my Favorite Italian Films series last week with Lisa Fantino’s review of Under the Tuscan Sun. That’s one of my favorites! This week Katie Greenaway from Olio di Oliva e Sogni di Vino is here to tell us about one of her favorite films in ...

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LIFESTYLE · September 8, 2010

Favorite Italian Films: Under the Tuscan Sun

With the Venice Film Festival under way and three big movies out in America - “Letters to Juliet,” “The American” and “Eat Pray Love” - all filmed in Italy, I thought it would be good timing to host a series of guest posts on Favorite Italian Films. I’ll be weighing in on some of my favorite flicks ...

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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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