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LIFESTYLE · June 29, 2011

On the Scooter Around Scala

Last week I rode my motorino to Ravello for a haircut at my favorite salon on the Amalfi Coast - Total Hair Design by Gerardo. It was a beautiful morning and instead of heading directly home, I decided to enjoy the sunny weather and ride the scooter all the way around the road that circles through ...

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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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PHOTOGRAPHY · May 13, 2011

Photo Friday: The 13th

Last week I was walking along a quiet stone pathway in Ravello, and the sun shining on this old wooden doorway caught my attention. I stopped, admired all the different beige colored textures and tones, and then continued on my way. After a few steps, I stopped again, dug through my bag and returned ...

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LIFESTYLE · May 9, 2011

Stopping to Enjoy the View

The thing with steep hills and lots of steps is that you just have to stop sometimes for a rest. Last Thursday, a cool and dry wind blowing down from the mountains had cleared away any trace of humidity left in the air from the rainy days before and turned the sea into an intense shade of azure ...

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LIFESTYLE · May 6, 2011

Photo Friday: Under the Lemon Groves in Ravello

On  any of the regular walks I take through Amalfi, Scala and Ravello, I have my favorite spots to stop and enjoy the view. Perhaps a glimps of the coastline through a garden or between two old buildings. When I see a new staircase or pathway, I'm always so curious to know where it leads and what ...

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PHOTOGRAPHY · April 29, 2011

Photo Friday: Wine & Drugs

This week started for me with an allergy induced head cold and a very sore throat. I also lost my voice for the first time in  my life. I had to laugh – even though it hurt – when I saw this sign for a new shop in Ravello. Must admit that at the time it didn't sound too bad! Wishing everyone a ...

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HISTORY & CULTURE, TRAVEL · April 27, 2011

Venerdì Santo Processions in Ravello & Scala

Last week on Venerdì Santo, or Holy Friday, it is the traditional day for the Processione del Cristo Morto, a mournful procession representing the carrying of Christ after he has been taken down from the cross to his burial. Usually, a statue of Christ's body laying on a bed is carried followed by a ...

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TRAVEL · April 25, 2011

Wisteria Blooming in Ravello

After a couple of years of rainy and cold springs, the Amalfi Coast is finally having the mild and beautiful spring weather that it's famous for. The wisteria has been blooming for weeks already along the coastline, and I've been enjoying its sweet scent filling the air. While the wisteria in ...

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PHOTOGRAPHY · April 15, 2011

Photo Friday: Wisteria in Ravello

Last weekend I was walking in Ravello and passed through a walkway that leads in one place between and under part of the beautiful gardens of the Villa Rufolo. I could smell the sweet scent of wisteria as I climbed a steep staircase, and as I reached the top was welcomed by this beautiful trellis of ...

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WRITING · January 31, 2011

Looking Up to Infinity

Recently, I've been writing about one of my favorite towns on the Amalfi Coast over at CharmingItaly.com - Ravello! While looking through my photos, this one that I took last summer while out on a boat caught my attention. You can see the beautiful little town of Atrani, and, high above, the very ...

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FOOD & DRINK · December 1, 2010

Where Woman Cook: Mamma Agata New York City Event!

I have great news to share with those of you reading from the New York City area! My dear friend Chiara Lima from the Mamma Agata Cooking School on the Amalfi Coast in Ravello will be returning to your area on December 10th for an exciting event at Chelsea Market (75 Ninth Avenue, between 15th & ...

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TRAVEL · November 15, 2010

Autumn at the Villa Cimbrone in Ravello

It's been a beautiful autumn on the Amalfi Coast. As I look out the windows at the bright blue sky and the autumn colors dotting the mountainsides in shades of reds, yellows and oranges, I'm inspired to share some photos I took in October at the Villa Cimbrone in Ravello. While the weather can be ...

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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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Latest on Instagram

Celebrating Independent Bookstore Day with a newsl Celebrating Independent Bookstore Day with a newsletter inspired in part by this beautiful song by @samantha_whates & @mgboultermusic. While I could never decide on just seven bookshops for my whole life, I’m sharing about seven remarkable indie bookshops I visited earlier this month in Bath and London. The link is in my bio, but swipe through the photos here for a look inside - each bookshop is tagged if they’re on Instagram. But definitely give them all a follow: 
@persephonebooks 
@mrbsemporium 
@toppingsbath 
@sherlockandpages 
@huntingravenbooks 
@hatchardspiccadilly 
@lrbbookshop 

Long live the independent bookshops! 📚
Thanks Amalfi … I needed a little reminder of th Thanks Amalfi … I needed a little reminder of that this morning. 🩶
Magic to watch the reflections dancing on the wate Magic to watch the reflections dancing on the water. Magic when they’re frozen in time. Just so much magic all around. I could spend a long time in moments like these. ✨
While it’s been a beautiful Easter Sunday in Ama While it’s been a beautiful Easter Sunday in Amalfi, I’m still processing all of the incredible experiences from my trip to England last week. And, thanks to “Square Haunting” by @francescawade, I am still very much haunting the streets and squares of London. Her book opens with this marvelous quotation from Virginia Woolf’s diary written 100 years ago today on April 20, 1925 (photo 1). It captures just what it felt like I was doing days ago - including a saunter through Bloomsbury Square (photo 2). Diving into this book over the weekend has felt like I’ve been able to linger even longer in those rare April days of spring blooms and blue skies in London. 

This book caught my eye immediately at the ever so charming @sherlockandpages in Frome (photos 4 & 5). How could it not when it was surrounded my one of my all time favorite books (“Letters to Camondo” by @edmunddewaal) and one of the best books I read last year (“All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me” by @patrickbringley)?

Hope that your Easter weekend has been a lovely one - with a little bit of “street sauntering & square haunting” wherever you may be!
Just had an unforgettable spring day visiting the Just had an unforgettable spring day visiting the Jane Austen House in Chawton as an early birthday present for myself.(Quite a bit early as it’s not until June.) But earlier this year I decided to have a Jane Austen theme for the year, especially since 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth in 1775. I do love a theme! Seeing the place where she wrote all of her novels, her tiny twelve-sided writing table, a quilt she made, and sitting in the garden listening to the birds sing is altogether something I’ll never forget. ✍️
Watching the colors of the sea and the fish swimmi Watching the colors of the sea and the fish swimming and thinking of the deep connections of old friends. And this poem by Mary Oliver. Hold tight to the friends who always find a way to say “Look!” and laugh in astonishment.

Mysteries, Yes 
— by Mary Oliver

Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood.

How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity
while we ourselves dream of rising.
How two hands touch and the bonds will
never be broken.
How people come, from delight or the
scars of damage,
to the comfort of a poem.

Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.

Let me keep company always with those who say
“Look!” and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads.
Mary Oliver wrote in a poem that “happiness isn’t a town on a map.” But when the little bit of wisteria blooms in Amalfi, I’m not so sure. 💜
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