Amalfi Coast

Why this port matters

The Amalfi Coast is the most dramatic piece of coastline in Europe, and within a 90-minute drive of Salerno you can also reach Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum, and the ferry to Capri. No other port on this voyage offers this density of world-class attractions within easy reach.

Brief history

Salerno was an ancient Lombard city and home to the Schola Medica Salernitana, widely considered the first medical school in the Western world. The coast itself was dominated by the Maritime Republic of Amalfi (9th to 11th centuries), one of the four great Italian thalassocracies. UNESCO World Heritage since 1997.

Highlights

• ·Positano, pastel houses cascading to Spiaggia Grande; best reached from Salerno by ferry
• ·Amalfi Town, Duomo of Sant'Andrea with its striped façade and Cloister of Paradise
• ·Ravello, Villa Rufolo's gardens and Villa Cimbrone's Terrace of Infinity, arguably Italy's most beautiful view
• ·Pompeii (40 min), best-preserved Roman city in the world; pre-book skip-the-line
• ·Herculaneum, smaller, richer, far less crowded than Pompeii; many scholars consider it more rewarding
• ·Paestum (50 km), three of the best-preserved Doric Greek temples in the world
• ·Capri, possible but tight on a 10-hour day; ferry is ~2 hours each way