Welcome to POSITANO
Positano has been called by artist Paul Klee "the only place in the world conceived on a vertical rather than a horizontal axis". Its arcaded, cubist buildings, set in tiers up the mountainside, reflect the sky in dawn-colour walls: rose, peach, purple,some tinted the ivory of sunrise's drifting clouds.In the words of John Steinbeck, who visited Positano in 1953, Positano bites deep. "It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone". Once you've been to Positano, you'll want to go back again...and again. It is one of those rare places which attracts a lot of visitors but has not been spoiled by tourism. All amenities are here but because of the way in which Positano is constructed - stacks of ice-cream coloured houses built into cliffs and small paths running down to the beach - there simply isn't room for major development or tourist buses.
Positano makes a great place from which to explore the rest of the Amalfi and Sorrento coasts. The best way is by boat - not least because the roads get totally clogged up in summer - by boat you get to see so much more; such as the Furore Gorge - an ancient fishermen's village patrimony of UNESCO, the Emerald Grotto and the famous Natural Arch of Amalfi. A visit to Positano takes you back in time. It's not difficult to see why, in the 1950's, Positano became highly desirable as a holiday destination which, for a while, rivaled Capri as the playground for the rich and famous. Traces of this "dolce vita" image are still visible and the town continues to attract a glamorous, affluent crowd. It's not just holiday makers and honeymooners who fall in love with the Amalfi and Sorrento coasts, nomerous writers, poets and composers have been inspired by its beauty...Patricia Highsmith was inspired by Positano when she wrote her novel "The Talented Mr Ripley" which was made into a film by Anthony Minghella starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. In 1952, while staying at the Albergo Miramare in Positano, Highsmith stepped out on to the balcony and saw a young man walking alone along the main beach. All was cool and quiet, the cliffs rose high behind me...then i noticed a solitary young man in shorts and sandals with a towel flung over his shoulder", she wrote. There was an air of pensiveness about him, maybe unease". Although she never learnt his identity - nor ever saw him again - she recast him as the character of Mr Ripley in her imagination. The Amalfi coast was also the setting for "A Good Woman", the screen adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play" Lady Windermere's Fan" starring Scarlet Johansson and Helen Hunt. Since little changes in the landscape here - the cliffs are too steep for building high rise modern hotel blocks - the makers were able to use modern-day Amalfi as the setting for the film depicting Amalfi in the 1930's. All the beautiful piazzas and stunning palazzos needed for the film are here already, so no need to go to Hollywood.
Have a look at our website ** www.cassiopea-positano.com ** to see pictures (PHOTOGALLERY), our basic offerings & details of our other tours.
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Positano has been called by artist Paul Klee "the only place in the world conceived on a vertical rather than a horizontal axis". Its arcaded, cubist buildings, set in tiers up the mountainside, reflect the sky in dawn-colour walls: rose, peach, purple,some tinted the ivory of sunrise's drifting clouds.In the words of John Steinbeck, who visited Positano in 1953, Positano bites deep. "It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone". Once you've been to Positano, you'll want to go back again...and again. It is one of those rare places which attracts a lot of visitors but has not been spoiled by tourism. All amenities are here but because of the way in which Positano is constructed - stacks of ice-cream coloured houses built into cliffs and small paths running down to the beach - there simply isn't room for major development or tourist buses.
Positano makes a great place from which to explore the rest of the Amalfi and Sorrento coasts. The best way is by boat - not least because the roads get totally clogged up in summer - by boat you get to see so much more; such as the Furore Gorge - an ancient fishermen's village patrimony of UNESCO, the Emerald Grotto and the famous Natural Arch of Amalfi. A visit to Positano takes you back in time. It's not difficult to see why, in the 1950's, Positano became highly desirable as a holiday destination which, for a while, rivaled Capri as the playground for the rich and famous. Traces of this "dolce vita" image are still visible and the town continues to attract a glamorous, affluent crowd. It's not just holiday makers and honeymooners who fall in love with the Amalfi and Sorrento coasts, nomerous writers, poets and composers have been inspired by its beauty...Patricia Highsmith was inspired by Positano when she wrote her novel "The Talented Mr Ripley" which was made into a film by Anthony Minghella starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. In 1952, while staying at the Albergo Miramare in Positano, Highsmith stepped out on to the balcony and saw a young man walking alone along the main beach. All was cool and quiet, the cliffs rose high behind me...then i noticed a solitary young man in shorts and sandals with a towel flung over his shoulder", she wrote. There was an air of pensiveness about him, maybe unease". Although she never learnt his identity - nor ever saw him again - she recast him as the character of Mr Ripley in her imagination. The Amalfi coast was also the setting for "A Good Woman", the screen adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play" Lady Windermere's Fan" starring Scarlet Johansson and Helen Hunt. Since little changes in the landscape here - the cliffs are too steep for building high rise modern hotel blocks - the makers were able to use modern-day Amalfi as the setting for the film depicting Amalfi in the 1930's. All the beautiful piazzas and stunning palazzos needed for the film are here already, so no need to go to Hollywood.
Have a look at our website ** www.cassiopea-positano.com ** to see pictures (PHOTOGALLERY), our basic offerings & details of our other tours.