Positano Italy Travel Guide, Positano Excursion Tips, Tourism & Tourist Attractions

The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta (Parish Church or Mother Church) dates back to 1200. It was originally a one-aisle church with ancient Byzantine mosaic flooring. A beautiful Byzantine image adorns the main alter. It is of the Black Holy Mother with Child on her lap. Legend has it that the Holy Mother came to Positano by sea. The other beautiful statue of the Holy Mother is called The Virgin of Positano, which was made by local inhabitants. This statue is carried around the town in a procession on the 15th of August every year. There is a superstition that if you find a marine stone when the statue reaches the beach, it is considered lucky and you should keep it as a souvenir.

Saint Vito is the patron saint of the town and a bust of his, preserved in the Mother Church, is chiseled out very beautifully and is of great value. It is one of the most important works of Neapolitan goldsmith art on the Amalfi Coast. Another piece of art of great value is Circumcision by Fabrizio Santafede (1599). This is preserved in the Parish Church.

Positano may boast of having the sea and the mountains thanks to the two villages of Montepertuso and Nocelle. The village of Laurito, situated in the valley on the east towards Salerno, must also be added to these two.

Montepertuso, the larger of the two mountain villages in Positano, it was founded by hiding inhabitants who wanted to protect themselves during the Saracens' invasions. It is named Montepertuso after a big hole in the highest pinnacle of the mountain. There are only three perforated mountains in the world and this is one of them. The rays of the sun and the beams of the moon pass through these holes on the 2nd of July. The feast of Our Lady of Grace is celebrated on this day. There is an interesting legend surround the perforations on the mountain. It is said that the devil challenged the Holy Mother to bore holes in the mountain, a task he himself wasn’t able to perform even after ten tries. The Virgin was able to do this by merely placing her finger on the mountain.

The Pestani sent to the region by the Benedictines of Positano to plough the land founded Nocelle. Each year on New Year's eve an ancient tradition is followed during which the 120 inhabitants of the village wait for the first dawn of the new year around a big bonfire lit in the middle of the 1300 church-square dedicated to holy Lady of Carmel. This is an occasion for the villagers to show their solidarity as they wait for the first rays of light eating, telling stories and singing around the bonfire. This is one event you should try and catch even you aren’t invited.

Laurito is another village in Positano. It stretches from a lower portion of a mountain up to the Amalfi route 163. It is the oldest village in the region. The abundance of laurel bushes centuries ago gave the village its name. Archaeological excavations were undertaken in the region resulting in the discovery of ancient clay pots and coins. What is perhaps most interesting about this is region is that in the centuries gone by they built fast boats. These boats were much faster than boats found in the nearby region and resulted in a number of Laurito inhabitants becoming pirates.

You can use Positano as a base to cover the below mention regions in the vicinity.

1. Conca dei Marini (10 Km): Grotta dello Smeraldo (Emerald Cave); Ravello (23 Km): You should visit the Cathedral, Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone and the Museum of hand-made paper.
   
2. Capri (11 miles)
   
3. Paestum (100 Km): visit to the Temple and the small interesting archaeological Museum;
   
4. Pompei (40 Km): visit to the Excavations (you should get an authorized guide) and in the same day, if possible, visit to the interesting Oplonti at Torre Annunziata: seaside imperial villas; on the way back a visit to Sorrento is suggested.
   
5. Ischia (27 miles)
   
6. Vietri sul mare (35 Km): for ceramics and visit to Ceramic Museum at Villa Guariglia in Raito.
   
7. Salerno (45 Km): at least the Cathedral.
   
8. Naples (60 Km): at least the Museum of Saint Martino and Capodimonte for the famous and homonymous chinaware.
   
9. Pozzuoli (80 Km): at least the Solfatara.
   
10. Velia (130 Km): Parmenide and Zenone's native land: the ancient Elea excavations
    
11. Padula (140 Km): visit to the "Reggia del Silenzio" (Royal Palace of Silence) that is the "Certosa di San Lorenzo" (Carthusian monastery of Saint Lorence).