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

Ciao Amalfi

Moon Amalfi Coast

BOOKS, WRITING · February 8, 2022

Moon Amalfi Coast with Capri, Naples & Pompeii, 2nd Edition

It's no secret that I love books. For as long as I can remember, I've loved books. The discovery, the possibility when stepping into a library or bookstore, the comfort in stacks of books around the house. The time spent with books is always special, whether it be hours that pass while lost in a ...

View the Post

BOOKS · February 14, 2021

Book Review | The Chocolatier by Jan Moran

The Amalfi Coast and chocolate ... what a winning combination! I was in the mood for something fun and sweet to read this month leading up to Valentine's Day, so I pulled The Chocolatier by Jan Moran off my bookshelf and enjoyed a long distance mini book club reading it together with my Mom. ...

View the Post

BOOKS · January 17, 2021

Book Review | Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

I love a good romance story as much as the next hopeless romantic. Add in a setting on Capri and I'll be first in line to buy the book. That is exactly what happened with Sex and Vanity, the latest novel by the worldwide bestselling author Kevin Kwan. Of course, Kwan hardly needs an introduction. ...

View the Post

BOOKS, WRITING · December 19, 2020

Interview with Author Lucy Knott

One of the best parts of Ciao Amalfi has been the way it's brought so many incredible people into my life. Some of them have even become my closest friends over the years. A decade ago that happened via blog post comments and connections with other bloggers. These days it seems most likely to happen ...

View the Post

BOOKS · August 30, 2020

Book Review | Always Italy by Frances Mayes & Ondine Cohane

There's never been a moment quite like the present when we all need a way to hold the beauty of Italy in our hands. COVID-19 has changed the landscape of travel and left so many people canceling long-awaited vacations, destination weddings, and family holidays. Or maybe just left that dream of ...

View the Post

WRITING · October 20, 2012

Book Review | At Least You’re in Tuscany by Jennifer Criswell

As an expat in Italy, I'm drawn to memoirs by writers who have followed a similar journey of uprooting life and going in search of a new pathway in a new country. Naturally, if the book is about expat life in Italy, then it's probably top of my "must read" list. I was thrilled to receive an advance ...

View the Post

WRITING · July 29, 2012

Book Review | Todo in Tuscany

There are a lot of reasons to fall in love with a house in Tuscany. A sweeping view across the rolling Tuscan hillsides, finding a piece of Italian history going back generations or a setting in a charming Italian village. While Louise Badger and Lawrence Kershaw found all those things in ...

View the Post

WRITING · July 2, 2012

Book Review | Among the Cloud Dwellers by Giuliana Sica

Every life deserves a little magic. If you feel like yours is missing that little spark, then boy oh boy do I have the book for you! One of my favorite summer reads so far has been Among the Cloud Dwellers by Giuliana Sica (published by Gemelli Press). This book is a beautiful blend of romance, ...

View the Post

WRITING · December 16, 2011

Book Review | Gelato Sisterhood on the Amalfi Shore by Chantal Kelly

The beautiful Amalfi Coast, travel stories, history, traditional Campania recipes and, of course, gelato – I think I fell in love with Chantal Kelly's book Gelato Sisterhood on the Amalfi Shore before I finished reading the back cover. It was a joy to dive into the story and join Chantal Kelly as ...

View the Post

WRITING · August 22, 2011

Book Review | The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore

I've just finished reading a delicious book, with a story so good that it lingers in my thoughts and I don't want to let it go. I picked up The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore on a whim in the Omaha airport last March, when my carry on was already loaded down with too many books. I had heard ...

View the Post

WRITING · May 2, 2009

Weekend Reads: The Beauty of Amalfi, an Italian Tale

One of the joys of starting this blog has been sharing the beauty of the Amalfi Coast with so many people around the world. This place has a way of enchanting people and creating a strong and lasting pull. I know it has for me! Over the past few months I have met people from all over the United ...

View the Post

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

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?
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Disclosure

Copyright © 2025 Ciao Amalfi · Theme by 17th Avenue