The Amalfi Coast ( it, Costiera amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline in

southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

overlooking the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

and the

Gulf of Salerno The Gulf of Salerno (Italian: ''Golfo di Salerno'') is a gulf of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the coast of the province of Salerno in south-western Italy. The northern part of this coast is the Costiera Amalfitana, which ends at Punta di Campanella an ...

. It is located south of the

Sorrentine Peninsula The Sorrento Peninsula or Sorrentine Peninsula is a peninsula located in southern Italy which separates the Gulf of Naples to the north from the Gulf of Salerno to the south. Geography Overview The peninsula is named after its main town, ...

and north of the

Cilentan Coast The Cilento Coast ( Italian: ''Costiera Cilentana'') is an Italian stretch of coastline in Cilento, on the southern side of the Province of Salerno. It is situated between the gulfs of Salerno and Policastro, extending from the municipalities ...

. Celebrated worldwide for its

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

landscape and natural diversity, the Coast is named after the town of

Amalfi Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...

, which makes up its main historical and political centre. It is a very popular

jet set In journalism, jet set is a term for an international social group of wealthy people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term, which replaced "café society", came from the lifestyle of tra ...

destination, and has been an attraction to

upper-class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

Europeans since the

18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trad ...

, when it was a frequent stopover on their

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

s. Attracting international tourists of all classes annually, the Amalfi Coast was listed as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 1997.

History

During the 10th–11th centuries, the Duchy of Amalfi existed on the territory of the Amalfi Coast, centered in the town of

. The Amalfi coast was later controlled by the

Principality of Salerno The Principality of Salerno ( la, Principatus Salerni) was a medieval Southern Italian state, formed in 851 out of the Principality of Benevento after a decade-long civil war. It was centred on the port city of Salerno. Although it owed all ...

until Amalfi was sacked by the

Republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa ( it, Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa, which existed from the 11th to the 15th century. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated ...

in 1137.

Geography

Like the rest of the region, the Amalfi Coast has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, featuring warm summers and mild winters. It is located on the relatively steep southern shore of the

, leaving little room for rural and agricultural development. The only land route to the Amalfi Coast is the long

Amalfi Drive The strada statale 163 Amalfitana, also known as Amalfi Drive, is a road which runs along the stretch of the Amalfi Coast between the southern Italian towns of Sorrento and Amalfi. The road was originally built by the Romans. The drive between ...

(Strada Statale 163) which runs along the coastline from the town of

Vietri sul Mare Vietri sul Mare ("Vietri on the Sea"; Campanian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated just west of Salerno, separated from the Port of Salerno by only a harbour wall. The ...

in the east to

Positano Positano (Campanian: ) is a village and ''comune'' on the Amalfi Coast (Province of Salerno), in Campania, Italy, mainly in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast. Climate The climate of Positano is very mild, of the Mediterranean ...

in the west. Thirteen municipalities are located on the Amalfi Coast, many of them centered on tourism.

Municipalities

}) , - ,

Conca dei Marini Conca dei Marini (Campanian: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is situated on a hill close to the coast and between Amalfi and Furore. It was perhaps founded by the Etruscan ...

, ''none'' , Main church of Saint John Baptist and the Emerald Grotto , - ,

Furore Furore is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. Furore is located on the Amalfi Coast. Geography The municipality of Furore expands from sea level, where there is the hamlet of Fiordo di ...

Fiordo di Furore Furore is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. Furore is located on the Amalfi Coast. Geography The municipality of Furore expands from sea level, where there is the hamlet of Fiordo di F ...

, Marina di Praia , Fjord of Furore , - ,

Praiano Praiano () is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Salerno in the Campania region of southwest Italy. It is situated on the Amalfi Coast (''Costiera Amalfitana''), a prime tourist location for the region and Italy alike, between the towns of A ...

, Vettica Maggiore , Churches of San Luca and San Gennaro and Saint John Baptist , - ,

, Montepertuso, Nocelle , Church of Santa Maria Assunta

Economy

The Amalfi Coast is known for its production of limoncello liqueur, made from

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

(known as ''sfusato amalfitano'' in Italian) grown in terraced gardens along the entire coastline between February and October. Amalfi is also a known maker of a hand-made thick paper called ''

bambagina {{unreferenced, date=May 2015 Amalfi paper, also called Charta Bambagina, is a valuable type of paper produced in Amalfi since the Middle Ages. Documents report its presence in Italy since the thirteenth century, although it seems that the paper m ...

'', symbolic of Italy’s ancient traditional technique for

paper production The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web a ...

and historically used for private writings, legal acts, and revenue stamps. Other renowned local products are a particular kind of

anchovy An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

(local Italian: alici) from Cetara, and the colorful handmade ceramics from Vietri.

Transport

Buses and ferries run along the Amalfi Coast, as well as boat excursions from Positano and Amalfi.

Airport

The

Salerno Costa d'Amalfi Airport The Salerno - Costa d'Amalfi Airport , located in the municipality of Pontecagnano Faiano and close to Bellizzi, is an airport in southern Italy, in Salerno city and the west coastal areas of Amalfi to the north and Cilento to the south. It i ...

is the nearest. However, the most used airport to reach the area from abroad is

Naples International Airport Naples International Airport ( it, Aeroporto Internazionale di Napoli) is the intercontinental airport serving Naples and the Southern Italian region of Campania. According to 2019 data, the airport is the fifth-busiest airport in Italy and ...

(Napoli-Capodichino).

In popular culture

The natural beauty and picturesque landscapes of the Amalfi Coast have made it one of the most popular destinations of the world's

, earning it the nickname of "Divine Coast" (''Divina costiera''). The rulers of Amalfi are the central figures in

John Webster John Webster (c. 1580 – c. 1632) was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies '' The White Devil'' and '' The Duchess of Malfi'', which are often seen as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. His life and c ...

's Jacobean tragedy ''

The Duchess of Malfi ''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, ...

''. The Dutch artist

M.C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made Mathematics and art, mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithography, lithographs, and mezzotints. Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for ...

produced a number of artworks of the Amalfi coast, and

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...

describes his time in Amalfi during a period of leave in the fourth part of his war memoirs, '' Mussolini: His Part in My Downfall''. The Amalfi Coast was used for scenes of

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

's 1972 film ''

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

'' and for the 2017 American

superhero film A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, ac ...

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'', where it was depicted as the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

island of Themyscira. The Amalfi Coast serves as a setting for fictional racetracks in the ''

Forza Motorsport 3 ''Forza Motorsport 3'' is a 2009 racing video game developed for Xbox 360 by Turn 10 Studios. It is the sequel to ''Forza Motorsport 2'' and the third installment in the ''Forza'' series. The game includes more than 400 customizable cars (more t ...

'', ''

Forza Motorsport 4 ''Forza Motorsport 4'' is a 2011 racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the fourth installment in the ''Forza'' series. It is the first title in the series to support the Kinect ...

'' and ''

Gran Turismo 4 ''Gran Turismo 4'' is a 2004 racing video game for the PlayStation 2, the fourth installment in the main ''Gran Turismo'' series and the sixth for the overall series. It was developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entert ...

''. It also plays host to the fictional town of

Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

Hitman Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may ...

. The city of Positano is featured in

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

's 1953 short story ''Positano''. The city is also featured in '' Under the Tuscan Sun'',

Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Cinema of the United States, Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. ...

's '' Tenet'' and the Kath and Kim movie ''

Kath & Kimderella ''Kath & Kimderella'' is a 2012 Australian film. It is a spin-off of the television series ''Kath & Kim'', created by Gina Riley and Jane Turner. It was written by and stars Riley, Turner and Magda Szubanski. The film was released theatrical ...

''.

Notes

References

External links

*
Amalfi Coast
at

ENIT ENIT—Agenzia nazionale del turismo, known in English as The Italian Government Tourist Board, formerly the Ente Nazionale Italiano per il Turismo ('Italian National Agency for Tourism') is the Italian national tourism board. The national Touri ...

– Italian National Tourist Board {{Authority control Coasts of Italy Landforms of Campania Landforms of the Tyrrhenian Sea Tourist attractions in Campania World Heritage Sites in Italy