The Amalfi Coast


Wednesday, January 2, 2019
The Amalfi Coast

Yesterday, on New Year’s Day, we spent the morning at the Museo Bottega della Tarsia Lignea, a museum devoted to inlaid wood art.  It was astonishing!  (see http://www.comune.sorrento.na.it/pagina845_museo-bottega-della-tarsia-lignea.html )

This is a labor of love for an architect who became enamored with this form of art, which is widely practiced here.  He has assembled a collection of the finest examples, which fill a three-story villa in the center of Sorrento.  He led us on a private tour, and the items in this collection are incredibly beautiful.  Both the art and the craft are extraordinary.  Highly recommended.  No photos allowed, unfortunately.

We spent the rest of the day wandering the city and shopping (yes, many shops are open on New Year’s Day).  A lovely dinner and to bed.

Today we drove and boated the Amalfi coast, visiting three of the towns there.  The coast is very reminiscent of northern California:



But the two-lane road, with many hairpin turns and multiple switchbacks, is not quite the same as US 101.  It’s  1 ½ lanes wide:



The drive may be scarier than going south on 101!  Our first stop was at Positano, a lovely small village on the coast:



The Santa Maria Assonta Church there holds a “Black Madonna,” the story of which I did not research.  We’ve seen another Black Madonna in Czestochowa, Poland.  Here’s the Positano church:



The organ has horizontal trumpet pipes:



Our leader hired this boat to take us along the coast to the town of Amalfi:



We passed beautiful small villages, such as Praiano:



There are fjords along the coast:



And there are caves, big and small:



We docked in the village of Amalfi:



There’s an unusual fountain in the town square:



Our guide said the church is in “Norman Arabic” style.  This needs more research:



The interior is beautiful:



And there is a lovely cloister:


The church museum has wonderful treasures including this 13th c. St. Andrew:



We had lunch in Amalfi, and then drove to a small gem of a town, Ravello, where there is a spectacular villa, The Villa Rufalo, with gardens overlooking  the view:


We drove back along the same terrifying road, and had dinner in Sorrento.  Tomorrow will be our last day; home on Friday.

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 2, 2019 at 6:24 PM

    These memories with phenomenal pictures are so fabulous for me to see. Do I see a similar fountain in future on your patio. What a neighborhood attraction! Another house and garden tour?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ralph P. LockeJanuary 3, 2019 at 3:32 AM

    That statue of St. Andrew is wonderful! Reminds me of some works by 20th-century sculptors, e.g., Barlach.
    I'm glad to see at least a low stone wall along the twisting road. But that wouldn't have been enough to make ME comfortable!

    ReplyDelete

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