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Novel

WRITING · January 30, 2022

We’re Writing a Novel!

Well, I really should title this: “We're finishing that novel!” For those readers who know me well, you’re probably thinking, “Finally!” Many years ago I started collaborating on a novel with my mother (that's the we!), who had a beautiful idea for a story set on the Amalfi Coast come to her one ...

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View of Scala on the Amalfi Coast

TRAVEL, WRITING · May 17, 2020

A Glimpse of My Scala in Italia! Magazine

While travel and most everything has been on hold this spring, the April 2020 issue of Italia! Magazine featured an article I wrote called 48 Hours in Scala. For those of you following Ciao Amalfi for some time now, you'll know that I've spent a lot more than 48 hours in Scala. About 12 years ...

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dream-of-italy-capri-walks

WRITING · August 12, 2017

Check Out My Favorite Capri Walks in Dream of Italy!

It's been a quiet summer around here on Ciao Amalfi, but it certainly hasn't been a quiet time. Summer is always a busy period, but this year seems especially hectic ... and hot! We've had a heat wave on the Amalfi Coast, making usually hot August even stickier than normal. But I've had a lot of fun ...

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WRITING · February 7, 2016

The Amalfi Coast in Perillo Traveler Magazine

The last few months have been a bit of a whirlwind, but in many good ways. In the middle of multiple writing projects, the end result can sometimes seem so far away. But when the final product arrives, all the extra work is worthwhile. It was a joy to get the Winter 2016 issue of Perillo Traveler ...

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NIAF Ambassador Magazine The Amalfi Coast

WRITING · December 6, 2014

The Amalfi Coast: Walking Through History One Step at a Time

This summer I had the pleasure to write about one of my favorite pastimes on the Amalfi Coast -- walking and exploring the ancient pathways and hiking trails -- for the NIAF Ambassador magazine. This is this quarterly magazine for the National Italian American Foundation, which is a wonderful ...

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Amalfi Coast Moments of Poetry

PHOTOGRAPHY · September 5, 2014

Foto Friday: Instructions for Living a Life

There are so many ways that the poet Mary Oliver has captured beautiful moments of life in her work, but this excerpt from her poem "Sometimes" is perhaps my favorite. It has that slap you in the face simplicity and speaks a truth that really resonates with me. So few people pay attention to what ...

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Ciao Amalfi Coast Travel September Sunrise

LIFESTYLE · September 1, 2013

September Sunrise

The sunrise this morning, the first day of September, was warm and soft. The start of a new month on the calendar can mean so little and so much. One day to the next, no big deal, right? But there's something special for me about the beginning of September. While mindfulness and enjoying the present ...

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WRITING · April 17, 2012

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall

I've been stuck lately working on a chapter in the novel. I know, it happens to writers all the time. The writing rarely flows continuously without a hiccup here or there to slow things down. Like the washboard surfaces on the dirt roads that were so much fun to ride my bike over when I was kid, I ...

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TRAVEL · April 10, 2012

A Change of Seasons

Over the past week and Easter weekend, the weather has changed from spring to winter and back to spring again on the Amalfi Coast. After a rainy and cold Saturday, the sun peeked out for a little bit on Easter Sunday before another storm came through in the evening. I popped my head outside the ...

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WRITING · January 28, 2012

The Traveling Writer

I wrapped my scarf around my neck an extra time against the cold wind as we crossed the Pont d'Arcole toward the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. The weather in Paris had been mild compared to our previous January visits, but along the Seine I could feel that the temperature had dropped according to the ...

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WRITING · October 9, 2011

A Writing Life

Not long ago, I changed the tagline of Ciao Amalfi from "Savoring Daily Life on Italy's Amalfi Coast" to "A Writing Life on Italy's Amalfi Coast." This small change reflects a significant shift within myself, one that has been happening so gradually over the past four and half years that I had ...

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PHOTOGRAPHY · July 6, 2011

A Summer Morning in Atrani

A beautiful Saturday morning and I needed a few photos for an article I was writing on the town of Atrani on the Amalfi Coast. There was only one thing to do ... a photo outing! It was a peaceful morning, and I saw only a few people while I wandered through town taking photos. Head over to Charming ...

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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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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?
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