The Amalfi Peninusla, a jewel in the South of Italy

Italy’s Amalfi Coast is a really famous and a very romantic destination. Its coastline is unbelievable interesting, fantastic sea, and good climate has fascinated guests since Roman period. The Amalfi Peninsula is very interesting and beautiful:  let’s go and explore the Amalfi Coast towns and the island of Capri from the towns of Positano and  Amalfi.

Built on the face of a cliff, Positano is one of the most fantastic towns on the coast. From Positano you can visit other towns by bus and ferries but also you can go to the town of Sorrento.

Also built on the slopes of the cliffs, here is Amalfi, a nice and historical resort town.

Amalfi Coast roads are somehow narrow and windy, and travelling by bus or car is not always easy. It can take more then one day trip to travel around and visit the coast, so it would be interesting to stop for one night also in Sorrento, a lovely town just on the other side of the Peninsula.

Loads of ferries run between Sorrento and Amalfi or Positano: in this way you have the chance to visit both parts of the peninsula as well as view all the coast from the sea.

Food on the Amalfi Coast and Cilento are both parts of Campania Region. The ingredients are very fresh and the local kitchen is fab.

What to eat then? As an appetiser we can choose Caprese (not named after Capri for nothing): fresh Mozzarella with even fresher tomatoes and Basil or fresh Rucola salad with lemon juice. Lemons are really  big in this area!

Campania are well-known for its fish and seafood specialties. In the Amalfi and Cilento coasts you can find octopussy: a famous recipe involves stewing it in a sealed clay pot with olive oil, garlic, capers, olives, and parsley or with chili and tomatoes. Mussels and clams “al sugo” are added plain or with tomato sauce to handmade pasta.

Squid and cuttlefish are the stars here: you can find either boiled and served in salads, stuffed and baked, or simply fried into tasty rings.

The cult of the dead in Naples

The cult of the dead in Naples is really strong not only during Halloween period: the ghost stories include “munacielli”, “belle ‘Mbriane” and other  paranormal phenomena.

In Neapolitan esoteric stories,  the bella ‘Mbriana is a must. This romantic Neapolitan legend tells of a princess who had lost her mind: she was caught in a bad romance,  a truly unhappy love affair. So since then she used to wander close to the alleyways of the city like a ghost. Her father the king gave gifts to those houses where the  girl was given help and support. From this it was springing a legend of fortune: in the fervid imagination of Naples people the” bella ‘Mbriana” has become the spirit of the house: she stays forever in a place which she has
chosen to protect.
She appears for a few moments, next to a curtain swinged by the wind or in a reflection of a mirror or of a window. Neapolitans imagine her as a
young woman with a sweet and gentle face, as a clear and bright figure.
The beautiful entities ‘Mbriane  take revenge on those who offend the house she has put under her support. Old Neapolitans said that you have never to complain about your own house!!

Did you know that the Basilica of San Pietro ad Aram was built on the site where St. Peter celebrated mass for the first time? Here he baptised also Saint Candida and Saint Aspreno, that is the first Neapolitans he converted to Christianity.

The Fontanelle cemetry is an old tuff quarry in the Sanità area of Naples, which traces back to the Aragonese period. The name “Fontanelle”, meaning small fountains, comes from the underground springs existing in the area. During XVII century, the quarry was a cemetery: here the people started to bury the victims of the plague, especially the 1656 outbreak.