2011 Amalfi Coast Adventures: Positano smiles and says Buon Girono . . .

Okay, so I "borrowed" that line from Samantha Brown. :) Today, I will pay Positano a visit. A place where John Steinbeck was inspired to write that very famous article and now years later, I have this opportunity to see Positano through my own eyes.

According to the Sita Bus schedule I should  arrive in Positano by lunch time.  The bus lets you off at the top of this hill and you need to walk these narrow alleyways down towards the beach. The path is lined with cute shops and interesting and colorful signs showing you the way as you can get sort of twisted around because you can't really see the ocean walking down. There are white washed shops that line the narrow alleyways down toward the black/grayish sand beach.

First, I paid a visit to the Church of Santa Maria Assunta.  As you enter the church you can read a greeting which says:

I don’t think I have read such an inviting and pleasing welcome.  It’s like I was really meant to start off my vacation here on the  Amalfi Coast with this early visit to this wonderful church. I can now begin to understand why Mr. Steinbeck was so captivated by this town. 

The Santa Maria Assunta seems to be the center piece of this town more than the beach itself with it’s brilliant dome made of majolica tiles as well as a 13^th Byzantine century icon of the Black Madonna. According to local legend the icon had been stolen from Byzantium and traveling across the Mediterranean by pirates, a terrible storm had blown up.  In fear for their safety, the pirates unloaded the precious icon off in Positano and the storm stopped.

They have some wonderful art as well and one that struck me was this “Chapel of Immaculate Conception”  Here’s what was said about this painting:

The painting (1795) depicts the Virgin as she appears in the Book of the Apcalypse: with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown with twelve starts, curshing the snake.  The angels around her are holding symbols taken from the Song of Songs that are applied to Mary:  the Lily, the mirror, the rose, the olive branch, the star

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After being inspired with my church visit, I decided to have lunch at Chez Black which is a restaurant located right on the Beach. Mimi mentioned that it was her favorite and I can see why.  It’s a little on the pricey side but the service is excellent, the food was outstanding (I had the grilled Sole) and the view….well it’s priceless!

More glimpses of a beautiful town . . .

Thank you everyone for all of your wonderful comments. They are very much appreciated. I am really enjoying this beautiful place in Italy! 

Ciao for now.