Amalfi Coast
Green basil, red tomato, and blue Amalfi coast
We did this trip in August 2018, it was our first motorcycle trip when we still had our legendary Honda CB 500F, an imperfect vehicle for a trip like this! But the passion for two wheels and the desire to discover our beautiful country overcame the obstacle of inconvenience, the lack of a windshield, a comfortable seat, and a top box. Unfortunately, the photos of this trip we have lost almost all and here we have only put the few that remained.
Toward Campania
Rome
We start the week of August 2018, the most infernal but unfortunately the work did not allow us another period. The program was to reach Rome to greet our friends Melania and Daniele, she was an old roommate when Federica was living in Rome.
The journey to Rome passed quickly, crossing the green Umbria, including Gubbio, Perugia, and touching Terni, to then take the famous (not in a good way) E45, towards Rome!
Rome always looks beautiful, and elegant but the streets are not, those are not. After a night spent with our friends in the streets of the capital, the following morning we arrive in Naples. We traveled the 3-lane highway to finally arrive in this city of a thousand faces. On the motorway we are fascinated by the motorway restaurants of Southern Italy, they seem like a wonderland with a thousand very good things to eat and normal prices .. a miracle! We will return to Naples later and go straight to the Amalfi Coast.
Italy is a wonderful country
Amalfitan coast
We reach the B&B Mamaral by motorbike, whose position remains on the upper part of the coast but which frees us from traffic and allows us to enjoy a unique view every day. Here we meet the young girl who runs the facility, together with her family, all very nice and helpful. The products are made by them and come from their gardens, we eat zucchini "alla scapece" for the first time (seasoned with vinegar and mint) and we fall in love with them. In the courtyard of the B&B there are flowers, gazebos and a perfect place in the shade for the motorbike.
After settling in the room, we put on the costumes and go down through the curves, admiring the infinite sea and its blue .. the Amalfi Coast is truly one of the Italian wonders that envy us all over the world and to be proud of!
Fjord of Furore and Emerald Grotto
We make the first stop at the Furore fiord: a cove under the bridge where the road passes, with beautiful water and the possibility of seeing extraordinary dives that only local experts know and can do. To reach it you have to go down a staircase of about 1000 steps.
The second stop is at the nearby Emerald Grotto. This small cave is famous for the blue reflections, from which the name derives, and for the stalagmites and stalactites that can be observed inside. You enter with a small boat and the guide explains in a nice way the shapes that seem to be created on the walls. To access it you pay for an entrance ticket, the tour is not bad, but it is very touristy. Absolutely forbidden to swim, this is a protected area to be preserved.
Positano
Positano is the most beautiful and characteristic of the whole Costieria. A magnificent sloping city made up of stairways, winding paths, restaurants, small shops, and flowers; a holiday resort since Roman times, which became increasingly famous in the twentieth century to become one of the best-known Italian destinations abroad and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 together with the entire Costieria.
In addition to wandering around in the alleys, the Marina Grande beach is very characteristic, the largest in the town with 300 meters of surface and a beautiful location being set between the two cliffs and with a view of the Li Galli archipelago.
At the end of the beach, there is also the disco inside the cliff Music on the rocks, where you can often see celebrities .. unfortunately, we didn't go because Fabio is a young old man :)
Amalfi
In Amalfi, you can still feel the power of the ancient Maritime Republic, when between the 9th and 11th centuries, this small town dominated the seas.
In fact, starting from 800 AD the Duchy of Amalfi became the first Italian maritime republic and one of the most powerful, thanks to its inaccessible position; its maritime code was of great influence throughout the Mediterranean until the 17th century. Always in competition with the other Republics of Pisa, Venice and Genoa; saw its decline due to the Normans and the tsunami caused by the eruption of Stromboli which in 1343 destroyed a large part of the city.
Entering the historic center it is beautiful to admire the Arab-Norman style buildings including the Duomo or Cathedral of Sant'Andrea, characterized by a striped Byzantine facade.
Also, you can visit the ancient Ancient Arsenal, which has recently been opened to the public.
Amalfi is perfect for spending a nice evening and eating in one of the many restaurants in the center.
Ravello
This city is a real jewel: cared for, perfect and regal in all its facets.
In fact, its nature is due to the intellectuals and artists who rediscovered it in the nineteenth century and who stimulated elite tourism: local and international nobles loved to laze around in its palaces. Richard Wagner composed the Parsifal in Ravello (now honored by the Classical Music Festival) and King Vittorio Emanuele III established his court here. Here at Villa Episcopio, the passage of lieutenancy from Vittorio Emanuele III to his son Umberto was signed in 1944 and the oath of the provisional government which led to the birth of the Italian Republic.
The historic center is magnificent as well as the Duomo, Villa Rufolo and Giardini Principessa di Piemonte. It is also worth visiting in the evening and if you are lucky, you can find some concerts or shows in the main square.
Minori e Vietri
Minori is very pretty and there are two of the best pastry shops in the area: Pasticceria Sal De Riso and Gambardella. You cannot visit the Amalfi coast without tasting the Lemon Delight, a unique delicacy, and the curly and short pastry "sfogliatelle".
Continuing on the road towards Vietri we stopped at the Acquachiara beach. It is not easy to park if you do not have a moped because you can access the cove directly from the main road overlooking the sea where parking and maneuvering spaces are few. Here the beach is beautiful, not too crowded and with excellent rocks for diving.
In Vietri, we went for a few hours to the town beach, simple and spartan, and then wandered around the historic center and fill our eyes with the colors of the ceramics. These are hand-painted, an Italian excellence, and are inspired by the colors of the Mediterranean: the yellow of lemons, the blue of the sea, the green of the vegetation, and the red of passion.
Sorrento
This is our last stop on the Amalfi Coast. The road to get there is really nice to do by motorbike, you pass through the Mediterranean scrub and you can see the villages and coves from above.
Sorrento is larger and more chaotic than the other towns and is located on the side of the Gulf of Naples. Piazza Tasso and its cafes are among the characteristic places of the historic center together with the cloister of San Francesco.
The ancient Roman
Archaeological Park of Ercolano
We take a break from the sea for one of the fundamental stops in this area: the archaeological parks. The initial goal was to see Pompeii again, but the absurd heat and the strong sun made us turn to Herculaneum, more contained and easy to visit.
The Roman city of Ercolano was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. - which also destroyed Pompeii - and was brought to light in the eighteenth century thanks to a chance discovery for the opening of a well and subsequent Bourbon excavations. The ancient city was provided with walls and built overhanging the sea at the foot of Vesuvius; its size was modest: about 4,000 inhabitants on 20 hectares (of which only 4.5 hectares are now visible).
Compared to Pompei it did not suffer the rain of ashes and lapilli, but during the night it was hit by pyroclastic flows at a speed of over 100km / h at a high temperature, which covered it under a layer of 10-15 meters (reached 25m with the eruption of 1631) of a material that allowed the preservation of wood, papyrus, food, and bodies. After the eruption, the inhabited center is not rebuilt and the area becomes uninhabited.
The inhabitants of Herculaneum tried to escape by sea and many stopped on the beach during that fateful night, where, however, they were surprised by the flows. In fact, almost 300 bodies of adults and children with their personal objects and jewels were found under the arches near the beach of the time (which is now a few kilometers away). Today the reconstructions of the skulls are visible and leave a void in the soul.
Inside the archaeological park, you can see the streets, the traditional houses and the large residences, the shops, and the different neighborhoods; while it is not possible to enter the spa and gym.
Naples
Old town and Fontanelle Cemetery
In Naples, traffic was strangely low (perhaps they were all at the seaside) and to blend in with the locals we raised our visors and unzipped our helmets.
We wandered through the streets of the center eating fried pizza for € 1, smiling at the sight of the sale of "Naples air", an empty bottle elegantly "filled" with Naples air to take home. The boy took all our compliments for ingenuity!
We visited Piazza del Plebiscito, San Gregorio Armeno Church, and the famous Via dei Presepi with the shops where they build handcrafted figurines also depicting political figures and celebrities in a funny way.
Finally, we opted for the Fontanelle Cemetery, one of the places not to be missed in Naples .. and the choice proved to be spot on. As soon as we entered this cemetery, it started to rain outside.
The Fontanelle Cemetery is a former ossuary that extends over more than 3000 square meters and contains the remains of an unspecified number of people.
It is located in the Sanità , one of the richest neighborhoods in history and tradition in Naples.
The cemetery is known because the rite of the "pezzentelle souls" took place here, ie the adoption and care by a Neapolitan of a specific skull of an abandoned soul (called capuzzella) in exchange for protection.
Every corner and every corridor of the Fontanelle Cemetery is full of history, anecdotes, legends, and curiosities just waiting to be heard.
The origin of the Fontanelle Cemetery dates back to the 16th century and is linked to the history and above all to the misfortunes of the Neapolitan people. [..] when the plague strikes the Neapolitans decimating them. So the order was given to reopen the Fontanelle quarry and 250,000 corpses were crammed into a population of 400,000 inhabitants.
In 1837, following the invasion of "cholera morbu", other bodies were brought to this cemetery by order of the Health Council.
In the same year, since an ordinance banned the ossuaries from all the parishes and brotherhoods of the cities and to transfer the bodies to the Fontanelle Ossuary, a large number of carts, escorted by brothers and guards, transported stacks of mortal remains to these caves..
The cemetery remained abandoned until 1872, when Don Gaetano Barbati, with the help of commoners, put in order the bones in the state in which they are still seen today and all anonymous, with the exception of two skeletons: that of Filippo Carafa Conte di Cerreto dei Dukes of Maddaloni, who died on 17 July 1797 and of Donna Margherita Petrucci born Azzoni who died on 5 October 1795; both rest in glass-protected coffins. "
Website cimitero delle fontanelle
Walking in this place may seem macabre for some, but in reality, everything is very orderly, almost obsessively, and knowing the story that the guide-caretaker tells, you have a different approach to this reality ... you would no longer want to go out and you understand the comfort people felt in visiting their protectors.
After the visit, the museum closed and we had to shelter from the rain under the balcony of an apartment, waiting for the rain to stop.
Then we went back to the parking lot where we left the bike and headed to Posillipo. The Internet reminds us that its name derives from the Greek Παυσιλυπον (Pafsilypon) which means "that makes the pain cease", linked to the view of the gulf that one enjoyed the view even two thousand years ago.
Dives from incredible heights
Bacoli
In Posillipo we spend the evening admiring the shooting stars and we see an incredible one for duration and length. The next day we try for more than an hour the excursion to the submerged Roman remains of the ancient city Baia, now submerged under the water but nothing is found .. maybe the pollution no longer allows you to see streets, statues, and ruins.
So we "beach" at the tip of Bacoli at the Miseno beach and Fabio finds companions to dive and risk his life by jumping from over 15 meters.
In the footsteps of the dinosaurs
Esperia
After the Campania tour, we resume the bike towards Gaeta. However, the weather thinks differently and a strong disturbance makes us change our itinerary. We proceed towards Frosinone and by chance, we stop in what looks like an unknown village. We discover instead that Esperia, now it is deserted but once it was a lively town full of tourists who in summer and winter came to spend their holidays and came to see the dinosaur footprints. Yes, you read that right, in the forest, on a rocky wall, it is possible to see the footprints of the passage of several small dinosaurs, which have left their footprints in a mud that has become eternal. In Esperia we also try snails for the first time. stewed (not bad!) by a nice couple of young restaurateurs
Helpful tips:
- Renting a moped is the only way to really get around (if you don't have a motorbike like us)
- Sentiero degli Dei, we have seen a part of it and we promised ourselves one day to do it because it follows the Costeria from the top of the rocky wall and has an extraordinary view among wonderful Mediterranean vegetation.
- Being a popular destination it is easy to spend a lot, so pay attention to the restaurant menus if you don't want to have a bleed. There are beautiful sea view restaurants also going up to the top of the cliff.
- Buy lemons and limes, here they are sweet and taste very good.
Must places:
Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Vietri, Cimitero delle Fontanelle in Napoli, eat one "delizia al limone"
Itinerary:
Click here to see the map and use it during the trip
