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HISTORY & CULTURE · September 21, 2017

Francesco Clemente’s Standing with Truth for Ravello 2017

In Italy, you can't help but experience modernity within the context of the past. What is new is quite literally enveloped in what came before. But isn't that what it should always be like? During my Washington, DC days, I was struck by a quotation from Shakespeare's The Tempest that is carved at ...

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LIFESTYLE · April 23, 2017

Italy Roundtable: The Rush of the Strange and Unfamiliar

This month's Italy Roundtable topic "foreign" brought in a host of interesting topics from the group - all thoughtful, reflective and informative. Be sure to check them all out at the links below! While I am a foreigner living in Italy, there's another aspect of the word "foreign" that has been ...

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LIFESTYLE · March 16, 2017

Is This Your Cat?

From the moment I met our cat Toulouse, it has been an adventure. This furry little guy arrived one Monday morning three and a half years ago, when someone buzzed at our gate and asked, "Is this your cat?" When I looked at the orange and white fuzzball with impossibly big ears, I had no idea what I ...

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Trattoria da Lorenzo in Scala with View of Ravello

FOOD & DRINK · February 16, 2017

Trattoria da Lorenzo | Excellent Seafood Restaurant Overlooking Ravello

Trattoria da Lorenzo in Scala For this month's Italy Roundtable theme of Flavor, I'd like to share with you one of my favorite restaurants on the Amalfi Coast - Trattoria da Lorenzo. You'll find it in Scala, just across the valley from Ravello. This restaurant has all the charms of a ...

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TRAVEL · January 19, 2017

Get Your Move On in Positano with a Yoga Retreat!

Winter has settled in on the Amalfi Coast, which means we're in the height of the bundled up inside dreaming of summer season. As much as my body tells me to get outside and MOVE after the holidays, which are celebrated here in southern Italy with a lot of food, the cold wind and snow-capped ...

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LIFESTYLE · December 15, 2016

Finding Home on the Amalfi Coast

When my mother first set foot in Amalfi's main piazza and stood gazing up at the Duomo of Amalfi, something deep inside her said, "Home." It was strong, clear and visceral. She didn't tell me this story until many years later, long after I had moved to the Amalfi Coast. My first experience with ...

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TRAVEL · November 17, 2016

Visiting the Amalfi Coast in the Winter – 5 Things You Need to Know

When most people think of the Amalfi Coast, the scenes that come to mind are beaches strewn with colorful umbrellas, bougainvilla draped pergolas and pastel hued buildings in the bright sunshine. If you've visited the Amalfi Coast from say April through October, that is very likely what you ...

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HISTORY & CULTURE · October 20, 2016

Watching Over Amalfi’s Legends

There's something captivating about an old watchtower, isn't there? Even if it's crumbling or half ruined, its very nature tells us that there are stories - something to be protected, something to be taken, conquests, danger, mystery. Sitting in the mountains above Amalfi is a watchtower that ...

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TRAVEL · September 15, 2016

In a Landscape Surrounded by Lemons

If there's one symbol of the Amalfi Coast that brings together the historical, cultural and gastronomic identity of the Amalfi Coast, it would have to be the lemon. Not just any lemon, a unique variety called the sfusato amalfitano that is only grown on the Amalfi Coast. This special citrus fruit ...

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LIFESTYLE · July 21, 2016

Bitten by the Amalfi Coast Bug

"Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone." John Steinbeck wrote those oft-quoted lines after visiting the Amalfi Coast in 1953. While his words have resonated with every traveler smitten by this temptingly ...

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Driving on the Amalfi Coast

TRAVEL · June 16, 2016

The Wildest Ride in Italy

Living on the Amalfi Coast means learning to live with the Amalfi Coast Road. This twisty road—the only one along the stretch of the coastline—offers an intoxicating blend of captivating views, tight spaces and treacherous turns. For many travelers it is a lasting memory, sometimes amazing, ...

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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!

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This month’s newsletter continues the travels in This month’s newsletter continues the travels in Italy with American poet H.W. Longfellow in 1828 as he made his way down to Naples. Plus a look at Grand Tour volcano tourism and a bonus of 19th-century tips for now not to be a tourist. Link in bio!
Mmmhmm autumn is definitely my favorite season. 🧡 This morning I woke up a bit earlier than my alarm and looked outside somewhat perplexed. The entire sky, the town—everything—had a burnt orange hue. A hurried lacing up of the shoes and still bleary eyed, but I just had to see it better for myself. It was a glorious sunrise. Now the rain has just gently started falling and I’m in full autumn ecstasy.

Later I’ll return to the piano to pick up where I left off yesterday learning this beautiful autumn waltz by @andreavanzo_composer. 🍂
Just by chance I happened to catch the very beginn Just by chance I happened to catch the very beginning and end of season at @cantine_marisa_cuomo this year. It was fun to see the grapes on the same vines just before harvest begins. Swipe to the right to see the same grapes back in May. Happy autumn!
Huge thanks to @italia_magazine for the lovely fea Huge thanks to @italia_magazine for the lovely feature of the second edition of Moon Southern Italy in the August/ September 2025 issue. Love the great description of @moonguides as well. Grazie mille! 🇮🇹
My heart might forever wander, but it’ll probabl My heart might forever wander, but it’ll probably always take a crosswalk. E si fermerà chissà…
This morning was a little cloudy when I went out f This morning was a little cloudy when I went out for my morning walk like I do most mornings in Amalfi. Down the coast, across the Gulf of Salerno, rays of light were shining right on the city of Salerno. I had set out with Salerno on my mind because it was there that 82 years ago today—on September 9, 1943—the Landing of Salerno began during WWII. My Grandpa was in the Army during the war - a lot of it in Italy. Yet he would never speak of where he was or what he did, and certainly had no desire to ever see Italy again after the war. While he probably wasn’t in that first landing in Salerno, he would have been somewhere in Italy, perhaps further south in Calabria or in Sicily. I always think of him during these days and wonder about those hard experiences he must have had in Italy. And very grateful for what he and so many fought for and endured. 

If you ever visit Salerno, south of the city there’s an Allied War Cemetery that is a moving and important place to visit. 🤍
Have I ever shared one of my favorite poems about Have I ever shared one of my favorite poems about Amalfi? It’s by the American poet Sara Teasdale (1884-1933). It’s simple and it’s heartbreaking - like first loves so often are. But I think about it often, especially on night walks in Amalfi. 

Night Song At Amalfi

I asked the heaven of stars
What I should give my love —
It answered me with silence,
Silence above.

I asked the darkened sea
Down where the fishers go —
It answered me with silence,
Silence below.

Oh, I could give him weeping,
Or I could give him song —
But how can I give silence,
My whole life long?
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