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Last Voyage of the Valentina by Santa Montefiore

WRITING · June 22, 2013

Summer Reads for Amalfi Coast Lovers

The summer has arrived and with it comes some much needed beach time with a great book. I hope your summer brings you travels to a warm and sunny destination ... perhaps even the Amalfi Coast! If you can't make it to the Amalfi Coast this summer, I've put together a list of books set on or about the ...

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Ciao Amalfi Coast Travel Positano Wisteria Pergola

TRAVEL · May 25, 2013

Wisteria in Positano

Spring came late and all at once this year. The villages along the Amalfi Coast went straight from overcast wintry days to the buzz of activity rushing to prepare for the busy season seemingly overnight. The flowers loved all the rain and suddenly burst in bloom last month. Speaking of flowers, ...

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Villa Cimbrone - Romantic Spots in Ravello

TRAVEL · February 12, 2012

Where to Propose on the Amalfi Coast

With San Valentino just around the corner, romance is definitely in the air. The Amalfi Coast is one of the top travel destinations for romance in Italy – popular for engagements, destination weddings, honeymoons and special anniversary celebrations. As a romantic at heart, I would love to share ...

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TRAVEL · October 6, 2011

Positano’s Laurito Beach

While I never need an excuse to hop on a boat and head to Positano, what lured me there on a stunning October day last weekend was an invitation from Eleonora from Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino to join her at Positano's Laurito beach for the afternoon. Eleonora had already tempted me to discover this ...

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LIFESTYLE · September 5, 2011

Old Man of the Mountain

One day I was having lunch on my own in Ravello, or at least I thought I was having lunch on my own. I looked up from the table to see along the top of the mountains the face of a man with a bulbous nose and prominent chin. I've heard locals point out several faces in the outline of the mountains ...

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LIFESTYLE · August 15, 2011

Buon Ferragosto from the Amalfi Coast!

Yesterday I took a quick hop over to Positano, which was filled with a festive air in preparation for the Ferragosto celebrations last night and today. As the bright balloons floated in the sea breeze, I looked up to see the colorful dome of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, seeming to catch both ...

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PHOTOGRAPHY · July 1, 2011

Photo Friday: Listening to the Doves

A lot can happen while you're trying to park on the Amalfi Coast. Or, more specifically, while you're waiting for someone else to find and maneuver the car into an impossibly small parking space. The other day, I was sitting on the wall on the side of the road while the Tour Guide worked his magic ...

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PHOTOGRAPHY · June 10, 2011

Photo Friday: Positano Bougainvillea

Simple because Positano is always Positano! There's that bright pink bougainvillea that I love and recently bought in Positano. If you're like me and can't get enough of Positano, you're going to love Positano Daily Photo. Have you checked it out yet? I love Nicki's photographs of daily life in ...

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HISTORY & CULTURE, TRAVEL · June 8, 2011

Summer Religious Festivals on the Amalfi Coast

June has arrived ... and it's summer on the Amalfi Coast! If you're planning a trip to the Amalfi Coast this summer, here is a list of some of the best religious festivals from June to August. Even if you're not Roman Catholic, timing your holiday on the Amalfi Coast to coincide with a religious ...

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LIFESTYLE · May 18, 2011

A Happy Birthday Bougainvillea!

On Monday, I mentioned that the bougainvillea in Positano was already blooming and shared a photo of a bright pink variety that I love. It so happens that this is also the Tour Guide's favorite color of bougainvillea, and he was the one who first pointed out to me how beautiful it is on Capri and in ...

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LIFESTYLE · May 16, 2011

An Evening in Positano

When the weather is warm, I love the early evening hours on the Amalfi Coast. The tourists buses have all departed to head back to Sorrento and Naples, the beach umbrellas are closed and stacked up ready for the next day and the locals come out to enjoy an evening stroll through town. As the colors ...

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TRAVEL · April 13, 2011

Wisteria Wonderland in Positano

Last spring Rosa from the Bell'Avventura blog in Positano wrote a post filled with gorgeous photos of the wisteria season in Positano. I was smitten. Wisteria is one of my favorite spring flowers, and I love how the sweet scent fills the air this time of year. I just had to experience the beautiful ...

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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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What a moving experience yesterday morning to see What a moving experience yesterday morning to see the Olympic torch in Amalfi. 🔥 One of the many many reasons I love living right in the center of Amalfi is that in one minute I can be in the middle of making pasta with artichokes and the next watching a historic moment happen. I never take that for granted! @milanocortina2026 @olympics
Well that was unexpected but fun! 🎄#amalfi #christ Well that was unexpected but fun! 🎄#amalfi #christmas #natale
Lovely new Christmas ornament created by @illustra Lovely new Christmas ornament created by @illustrationbyjonathan of Jane Austen’s House in Chawton and her tiny 12-sided writing table. It looks exactly like the beautiful spring day when I was there in April this year. Such a beautiful memory! I think this will have to stay out all year.
Happy 250th birthday to Jane Austen! One of the de Happy 250th birthday to Jane Austen! One of the definite highlights of my year was visiting @janeaustenshouse in Chawton on a beautiful spring day. I still think of her tiny writing table and what it felt like to stand there and take it all in. I’ve enjoyed the book “A Jane Austen Year” throughout the year - pulling it off the shelf at the start of each month. While at Chawton, I picked up the embroidery kit by @abigailrosecreative made to celebrate the 250th celebration. I’ve been wanting to learn to do embroidery for years, so this was the perfect souvenir from Jane Austen’s House. Still a work in progress, but I’m nearly there! 🧵🪡
I don’t know how to begin describing Naples, which I don’t know how to begin describing Naples, which is how I felt seeing “Partenope - Musica per la sirena di Napoli” at the @teatrosancarlo yesterday. This opera in one act was written by the great Ennio Morricone 30 years ago, and it was finally performed for the first time this weekend. Just in time for the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of Naples. Mary Oliver wrote: “A town cannot live on dreams.” I was thinking about that line yesterday and wondering if maybe a town could live on mythology. 2,500 years later, Naples might just be proof that it can.
A beautiful and very festive Christmas tree lighti A beautiful and very festive Christmas tree lighting at the @anantaraconventodiamalfi tonight! Always love hearing the beautiful voice of my sweet friend @lucykielymusic. Now it feels like Natale in Amalfi! ✨🎶🎄
As 2025 winds down, I’ve been making my way throug As 2025 winds down, I’ve been making my way through some of the books sitting unfinished on my bedside table. I usually finish a book once started, but occasionally I come across one that is so good I can’t let myself rush through it all at once. I want to hang on to that first read as long as I can, slowly savoring the way it changes the geography of my mind.

This autumn that has been “Upstream” - a selection of essays by Mary Oliver. If “attention is the beginning of devotion,” as Oliver writes in the first essay in the book, I am deeply devoted to her writing. Few writers capture my attention and hold it the way she does. This will be a book I know will return to again and again. And, even though I’ve finished, it might be a long time before it leaves my bedside table. I’ll just leave you with a couple of Oliver’s magical lines:

“You must not ever stop being whimsical.

And you must not, ever, give anyone else the responsibility for your life.”
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