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

Ciao Amalfi

TRAVEL · December 30, 2012

Christmas Eve Fireworks in Amalfi

If you've spent time exploring the little side streets and alleys in Amalfi, you'll have quickly learned that there are a lot of stairs to get pretty much anywhere. A lot. Late on Christmas Eve we worked off the big dinner by climbing about 200 steps to meet some good friends for a drink while ...

View the Post

LIFESTYLE · December 24, 2011

Happy Holidays from the Amalfi Coast!

This is my third Christmas on the Amalfi Coast, and each year I fall in love just a little bit more with the holiday celebrations, decorations and season in Italy. The simple beauty of Christmas and time with family seem somehow less adulterated by the commercialism of America. I was pleased to see ...

View the Post

TRAVEL · December 21, 2010

Christmas & New Year’s Events in Amalfi!

Head over to the Amalfi Coast Local Flavor Blog on NileGuide to find out about all of the fun events scheduled for Christmas, New Year's and Epiphany in Amalfi. I'm looking forward to sharing stories, photos and videos of the holiday events this year! ...

View the Post

PHOTOGRAPHY · December 17, 2010

Photo Friday: Christmas in Minori

The Christmas lights on the Amalfi Coast are pretty this year just about everywhere you go. I couldn't resist quickly snapping a photo of the unusual white Christmas tree in Minori when we stopped to see the lights there last week. It's a rather whimsical creation surrounded by blue angels and white ...

View the Post

TRAVEL · December 15, 2010

Christmas Lights & Music in Amalfi 2010

Last week I told you that it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Amalfi as they began to put up the Christmas lights and decorations throughout town. On December 8th, for the celebration of the Immaculate Conception, Amalfi's Christmas lights were turned on and celebrated with a marching ...

View the Post

LIFESTYLE · December 6, 2010

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas … in Amalfi!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... in Amalfi! The bakeries and shops are decorated for the holidays, and soon the town will be lit with Christmas lights. With all the recent bad weather, it's been hard to put up the decorations this year. But last Saturday morning I was out and about in ...

View the Post

TRAVEL · December 14, 2009

Bring on the Christmas Lights!

  The holiday season is in full swing here on the Amalfi Coast! The food shops are full of Christmas treats like Panettone, Pan d’Oro and torrone. Every town from small to big is decked out in Christmas lights. Amalfi has scheduled a host of concerts and events for Natale e Capodanno ad ...

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