AMALFI
The soaring seaport which lends its name to a famous serpentine drive (and to restaurants and apartment houses across the U.S.A.) is but a charming shadow of its former self. Once a maritime republic able to rival Venice, it has now shrunk to a quiet town creeping up the cliffs in picturesque abandon. Its mighty fleet has dwindled to a few dozen fishing vessels which venture forth at night, equipped with blinding lights to dazzle and attract their catch. But its towering Norman cathedral is eloquent of Amalfi's greater days. Somehow Amalfi has never become a tourist trap. It treats its guests with deference and good cheer, and its hotels are not cut in the usual pattern. One of them, the CAPPUCCINI, has been celebrated for decades. It is a converted Capuchin convent, perched on a ledge two hundred thirty feet above the sea. Luncheon or tea on its often-pictured pergola is a momentous experience, and a prolonged stay in one of its modernized monastic Cells is even better. An unlovely but breath-saving elevator now solves the climbing problem to this unique hostelry. The LUNA is a smaller hotel which was once a convent also. It occupies a favored promontory jutting into the sea. Our own favorite is the HOTEL SANTA CATERINA, a well run, spotless place with pleasant gardens and a panoramic dining terrace high above the sea. It has commodious garage space and the culinary standards are commendably high, a phrase which is not overworked in this article.
RAVELLO
This drowsy spot on a promontory a thousand feet above Amalfi is one of the most exquisite romantic villages in Italy. Furthermore, the gastronomic outlook in Ravello is encouraging. We tried two places and found both of them good. The CARUSO BELVEDERE is a long-established house whose walls are crammed with paintings, and whose guest book is truffled with famous names. The chef was a little inclined to depend upon prepared kitchen extracts for his sauces, we felt, but the particular specialty of the house, a chocolate souffle touched up with black cherries, was a masterpiece.
Less expensive, but quite as happy a choice is the HOTEL RUFOLO, a pleasant place overlooking the celebrated Rufolo gardens. This is the most immaculate hotel we have seen in years, glistening with marble, tile and white linen. Our luncheon consisted of the conventional cannelloni, scaloppine, salad, cheese and fruit, with a cool bottle of local wine. It was inexpensive, well prepared, and served with skill and courtesy.
POSITANO
The extraordinary serpentine road known as the Amalfi Drive deserves all the ecstatic acclaim that it has received during its century of existence. Beginning near Salerno it winds westward tortuously, clinging to the rocky hillside, then descending to multicolored fishing villages, then climbing through terraced slopes and over viaducts to new and breath-taking heights. The driver is the only one who isn't thrilled by the first trip over the Amalfi Drive. He has to watch the bends and not the beauty. Approaching Amalfi there is a crescendo of fishing villages-Cetara, Maiori, Minori (where a remarkable Roman villa has been exhumed), Atrani (in our opinion the most paintable of all) and iridescent Amalfi itself. A rival to Amalfi has sprung up in recent years, and its charms are beguiling indeed. Its name is Positano, a fishing village with strong oriental overtones. Its houses have rounded Moorish roofs, and they climber to giddy perches around its precipitous wedge of rock. Artists have adopted Positano with gusto, and canvases of its exotic tapestry of houses have spread throughout the world's art galleries. But you don't have to have an easel and a broad-brimmed hat to enjoy Positano. It has two good hotels which welcome mere seekers of sunshine and repose. We lunched at the best-known one, LA SIRENUSE, a gay pinkish structure which tumbles down the hillside, and came away in a pleasant mitt of contentment. Our meal had consisted of cannelloni, a luscious grilled sole, a plump, juicy pear, Capri wine and jet-black coffee-simple enough, but served to perfection. This hotel is in the upper expense bracket, but worth it. We think you would enjoy it thoroughly.
SORRENTO
Among the diadem of attractions surrounding Naples. Sorrento offers something else againa matchless view of the bay and a maximum of creature comfort. Generations of famous people have found inspiration in Sorrento: Lord Byron, Sir Waller Scott and Oscar Wilde among them. Longfellow, Cooper and Harriet Beecher Stowe were American visitors. Goethe and Nietzsche, Stendhal and de Musset, Caruso and Giuseppe Verdi, all yielded to its reposeful charm. It is the most inviting place in Campania for a prolonged stay, and its shops arc by far the most tempting, particularly if you arc partial to lace and linen. Sorrento's luxurious hotels are stretched along a plateau which comes to a sudden stop at the edge of an awe-inspiring vertical cliff. Each hits a garden fragrant of orange blossoms, oleander and mimosa. We tried the COCUMELLA, and liked it very much, but we have an idea that the other five top hotels-the Vittoria, Europa Palace, Royal, Tramontano and Carlton-would have sent us away just as happy.
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