Amalfi is one of the more level towns in the region. It rambles up the valley hillside rather than clinging to the cliffs which makes it a tad easier to get around. We learned that Amalfi used to be a maritime powerhouse comparable to Pisa, Venice, and Genoa. It is also a UNESCO world heritage site.
We got off the bus in a torrential downpour! The hiking was postponed as we resorted to wandering through Amalfi and it’s next door neighbor, Atrani. Amalfi, unlike Positano or Praiano, starts at the water edge with a promenade along the Mediterranean and a marina full of colorful boats. The focal point of this town is the Piazza del Duomo which is in front of the magnificent cathedral with its 60 steps leading to the entrance. The piazza is clustered with sidewalk cafes and elegant shops. We also discovered that the town of Amalfi has a long history as a center of paper mills. Apparently, there are still some family-owned paper mills that carry on the tradition. There are a number of small shops in town that sell beautiful paper goods for writing and wedding invitations.
Luckily, the thunderstorm passed and we were blessed with lots of sunshine to continue our sightseeing. Looking around the shops in town and the surrounding hills, you quickly surmise that the primary agricultural product of the area is their enormous lobes of lemons for their famous limoncello liqueur. As we meandered through town, the lemon motif was on everything from ceramics, soaps, clothing and liquor bottles.
