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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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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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