Tour Guide, Bled, Slovenia
| 16 mins read
Magical Positano
The idyllic seaside town situated on the cliffs of the gorge on Amalfi coast of the Italian Campania. Pastel painted houses are terraced rising above the bay and steep main street is meandering down the coast. Architecture in Moorish style climbs the steep slopes and steep towards the Sirenuse Islands. When admiring the magical Positano from the terrace of one of the many restaurants, you feel that you are observing the image of the painter of the nineteenth century.
The settlement developed in the first half of the twentieth century as a poor fishing village during Sorrento and Amalfi. Flourish in the fifties, after John Steinbeck published an essay about it in Harper Bazaar and described it as a dream place that wasn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone. It has become a cosmopolitan tourist town, where many celebrities came to rest and for the inspiration. In the seventy's singer Shawn Phillips, a composer, wrote here his most famous song. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones have written the song Midnight Rambler here. For the German pianist Wilhelm Kempff was Positano holiday retreat and he had performed a course of Beethoven's piano sonatas and concerts here, which have been continued by teachers Gerhard Oppitz and John O'Conor. Town was portrayed in the movies Only you, Under the Tuscan Sun and in the musical Nine and the song. Every year here is a traditional cartoon festival Cartoons on the Bay.
The main attraction of the place is the church of Santa Maria Assunta, which has a dome made of brick tiles in the form of majolica and reflects in blue and gold colors. Maria Assunta is a beautiful church but brides need to know that they have to go to church down the pebble stones or come by boat and take a walk on the pier, because the church is almost on the coast and the road does not go all the way to the church. All around are the flowers. Beneath the church is the tomb that you can explore to learn more about its history. The beach is only a few minutes walking from the church. It kept the Byzantine icon of the Black Madonna from the thirteenth century. As the legend says, it was stolen by pirates in Constantinople and transported across the Mediterranean. In the waters opposite to Positano a great storm occurred and frightened sailors heard a voice on the board, which he repeated: Posa, posa! (Put down, put down!). So the valuable icon was unloaded in the fishing village and the storm has abated. Thus the origin of the town's name arised.
Other interesting attraction in Positano are its ancient stone stairs. It is not about one or two stairs here and there, but the stairs is stretching throughout the city and the higher you go, the more interesting the view is. This is what makes you tick to walk, even if the knees weaken. However, if you're descending, your motivation is the beach. Good walking shoes are highly recommended, no matter what you intend to do while you're in Positano.
Belvedere dello Schiaccone is the best view of the city along the coast of Amalfi. Located about 600 to 700 meters uphill (above the water) and a viewing is accessible from the main road along the coast. It is west of Positano, so if you come from this direction, it is located before you get to the junction of Positano. This is an excellent vantage point from which the three small islands that make up the archipelago LiGalli are visible. And a unique view of Positano. If you missed it on arrival, it is worth to stop the car when you return.
You can opt for walking along the path of the gods to or from Praiana. This can be done from Nocelle or Montepertusa. It leads at an altitude of about 500 m and you need to book three hours to get to Praiana. If you are coming from the other direction and looking for a cheap restaurant, eat in Nocelle, those in Montepertusu are expensive and the prices charged are alike those in Positano. If you take the start in Praianu, go along the path to the monastery of St. Dominic. The path cling to the mountain in the same way as on the road below, and is not suitable for people with vertigo and at some places is unfavorable. You can purchase a map with all the local hiking trails in the tourist office for one euro. There is a local bus that drives between Praiano and Positano as well as between Positano and Nocelle.
A little less than an hour from Positano are the famous Pompeii, buried city, which was destroyed in 79 AD when Mount Vesuvius, volcanic mountain, erupted. Excavation of Pompeii is open to visitors. Some buildings are fairly well preserved, for example amphitheater and the city SPA. Particulary shocking are casts generated when lava flooded living people who did not withdraw from the city. Nowdays tourism in Positano is far the most important activity.
The town is also famous for limoncello (lemon drink) and "L'Albertissimo" alcoholic opiate, which can be found in a small booth in the main harbor. Along the village numerous boutiques with the latest fashion trends and art galleries with works of local authors are scattered. From the terrace of hotels along the coast you can see the gray volcanic sand at the beach. If you feel the need to work out a dream pace in Positano, the place is ideal starting point for excursions into the surrounding area, such as excursions to Capri, or Ischio to the cave Grotta dello Smeraldo. The city of Amalfi on the continent is just a stone's throw away. Bus takes you to Ravelli, which is famous for its classical music concerts.
Nearby is Sirenusas, also known as Gallos or Roosters, an archipelago of small islands of Amalfi coast between the island of Capri and 6 miles southwest of Positano. It is named after the mythological sirens, which are supposed to live there.
Leonide Massine, Russian dancer and choreographer bought a small island named Gallo Lungo in 1922. He turned old Aragon tower into places with a dance studio and arranged open-air theater, which was later destroyed in the storm. At the site of the original Roman building is built villa with bedrooms that looked toward Positano, and a large garden on the terrace on the first floor facing the Cape Licosa and Capri.
After Massine's death in 1988 the island was purchased by Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who spent the last years of his life here. The villa was remodeled in the Moorish style and its interior paved with tiles from the 19th century from Sevillia. The plants for desalination with a reliable water supply to assist in the development of the gardens were planted.
After the death of Nureyev in 1996 bought the islands Giovanni Russo, hotelier from Sorrento who has had a private residence, as well as made available for private hire, with personnel and someone who brought guests to and on the continent. Others were not allowed to disembark on the island, but they can swim in the surrounding waters.
Neapolitan playwrighter Eduardo De Filippo purchased the island of Ischia, which is still owned by his son Luca De Filippo.
Ischia has a beautiful villa and garden, both on the side facing the abyss (and therefore not visible if you proceed in the background of the island). The island is described by playwrighter's wife Isabella in a book entitled There is an islands in the Sea... The property has over the years sold in the market, last public offer for the three islands in 2011 was 268 million U.S. dollars.
Restaurants scattered across the town are offering typical Italian food: lobster and grilled fish, creamy mozzarella and tomatoes, fried in olive oil, pasta with various sauces, pizzas, ...
This part of the coast is often described as the most beautiful in the entire Mediterranean. One by one, the green and rocky mountains dive dramatically into the Mediterranean blue sea. Amalfi on the famous coast road relies on the slopes, pointing more stunning images after each corner. Until recently much of this coast was accessible only by boat. Now it's fashionable tourist area, which keeps the charm of past times.
If you arrive by boat from Amalfi to the Grande beach to see the coast from the sea is something you never would have experienced if you were taken there by car. As the boat comes closer the beauty is becoming more and more striking. The beach itself is made up of stones, pebbles and coarse dark sand. It is pretty crowded, so it is better to walk into town along the footpath to the beach, and enjoy a snack and a beer in a restaurant overlooking the beach.
View from the beach is amazing. You can not imagine how wonderful the place on the cliffs is, with all its beautiful colors when you stand at the bottom and look up. Best there is at sunset, when the sun falls over the horizon and lights of Positano decorate this beautiful town.
Idilično obmorsko mestece leži na pečinah soteske na Amalfijski obali v italijanski Kampanji. Pastelno obarvane hiše se terasasto vzpenjajo nad zalivom in strma glavna ulica se vijugasto spušča proti obali. Arhitektura v maverskem slogu se vzpenja po strmih pobočjih in strmi proti Sirenskim otokom (the Sirenuse Islands). Ko občudujete Positano s terase katere od številnih restavracij, se vam zazdi, da opazujete sliko slikarja iz devetnajstega stoletja. Naselje se je razvilo v prvi polovici dvajsetega stoletja kot revna ribiška vasica med Sorrentom in Amalfijem. Zacvetelo je v petdesetih letih, po tem, ko je John Steinbeck objavil o njem esej v Harper Bazarju in ga opisal kot sanjski kraj, ki ni čisto realen, ko ste tam, a postane vabljivo resničen, ko odidete. Postalo je mondeno turistično mestece, kamor so prihajale na oddih in po inspiracijo številne znane osebnosti. V sedemdesetih letih je pevec in kompoziror Shawn Phillips tu napisal svoje najbolj znane skladbe. Mick Jagger in Keith Richards iz The Rolling Stonesov sta tu napisala pesem Midnight Rambler (Polnočni sprehajalec). Za nemškega pianista Wilhelma Kempffa je bil Positano počitniško zatočišče in je tu izpeljal tečaj Beethovnovih klavirskih sonat in koncertov, kar sta nadaljevala učitelja Gerhard Oppitz in John O'Conor. Mestece so prikazovali v filmih Only you (Samo ti), Under the Tuscan Sun (Pod toskanskim soncem) in v mjuziklu Nine in the song (Devet v pesmi). Vsako leto tu poteka festival risank Cartoons on the Bay.
Glavna znamenitost kraja je cerkev Santa Maria Assunt, ki ima kupolo narejeno iz opečnatih ploščic v obliki majolike in odseva v modrih in zlatih odtenkih. Maria Assunta je lepa cerkev, ampak neveste morajo vedeti, da moraš hoditi v cerkev navzdol po prodnatih kamnih ali pa priti z ladjo in se sprehoditi od pomola, saj je cerkev skoraj na obali in cesta ne sega vse do cerkve. Vse naokoli je sveže cvetje. Pod cerkvijo je tudi grobnica, ki jo lahko raziščete, da izveste več o njeni zgodovini. S plaže je le nekaj minut hoje do cerkve. V njej hranijo bizantinsko ikono črne Madone iz trinajstega stoletja. Kot pravi legenda, so jo pirati ukradli v Bizancu in jo prevažali po vsem Mediteranu. V vodah nasproti Positana pa se je razbesnela huda nevihta in prestrašeni mornarji so zaslišali na krovu glas, ki je ponavljal: Posa, posa! (Odloži, odloži!). Dragoceno ikono so raztovorili v ribiški vasici in nevihta je ponehala. Tako naj bi nastalo ime mesteca.
Druga zanimivost v Positanu so njegove stopnice. Ne gre za eno ali dve leti stopnici tu in tam, ampak se stopnice raztezajo skozi vse mesto in višje ko greš, bolj zanimiv je razgled. To je tisto, kar te poganja, da hodiš, tudi če se kolena šibijo. Če pa se spuščaš, je tvoja motivacija plaža. Dobri pohodni čevlji so zelo priporočljivi, ne glede na to, kaj nameravate početi, medtem ko ste v Positanu.Belvedere dello Schiaccone je najboljši pogled na mesto ob obali Amalfi. Nahaja se približno 600 do 700 metrov v hribu (nad vodo) in razgledišče je dostopna iz glavne ceste vzdolž obale. To je zahodno od Positana, tako da, če ste prišli iz te smeri, se nahaja preden prideš do odcepa za Positano. To je odlična razgledna točka, s kateri so vidni trije majhni otoki, ki sestavljajo arhipelag LiGalli. In enkraten pogled na Positano. Če ste ga zamudili ob prihodu, je vredno ustaviti avto, ko se vračate.Odločite se lahko za pešačenje po poti bogov v ali iz Praiana. To lahko izvedete iz Nocelle ali Montepertusa. Vodi na nadmorski višini približno 500m in rezervirati si morate tri ure, da pridete do Praiana. Če prihajate iz druge smeri in iščete poceni restavracijo, jejte v Nocelle, tiste v Montepertusu so drage in zaračunavajo teke cene kot v Positanu. Če štartate v Praianu, greste po poti do samostana svetega Dominika. Pot oklepajo gore na enak način, kot na cesti nižje, zato ni primerna za ljudi z vrtoglavico in je na posameznih mestih neugodna. Lahko si nabavite zemljevid z vsemi lokalnimi pohodniških potmi v turističnem uradu za en evro. Obstaja lokalni avtobus, ki vozi med Praiano in Positanom ter tudi med Positanom in Nocelle.Malo manj kot uro od Positana so sloviti Pompeji, pokopano mesto, ki je bilo uničeno leta 79 našega štetja, ko je izbruhnila vulkanska gora Vezuv. Odkopani del Pompejev je odprt za obiskovalce. Nekatere zgradbe so dokaj dobro ohranjene, npr. amfiteater in mestno kopališče. Zlasti pretresljivi so odlitki, ki so nastali, ko je lava zalila žive ljudi, ki se niso umaknili iz mesta. Danes je turizem v Positanu daleč najpomembnejša dejavnost.
Mestece je poznano tudi po limoncellu (pijača iz limon) ter "L'Albertissimu", alkoholnem opijatu, ki ga lahko najdemo na majhni stojnici v glavnem pristanišču. Po naselju so posejani številni butiki z zadnjimi modnimi smernicami in umetniške galerije z deli lokalnih avtorjev. S terase hotelov ob obali lahko vidite vulkansko siv pesek na plaži. Če začutite potrebo , da razgibate sanjski tempo v Positanu, je kraj odlično izhodišče za izlete v okolico, na primer z ladjo na Capri, Ischio ali do jame Grotta dello Smeraldo. Tudi mesto Amalfi na celini je le streljaj proč. Z avtobusom se lahko odpeljete do Ravella, ki slovi po svojih koncertih klasične glasbe.V bližini je Sirenusas, znan tudi kot Gallos ali Roosters, arhipelag majhnih otokov ob Amalfijski obali med otokom Capri in 6 km jugozahodno od Positana. Ime je dobil po mitoloških sirenah, ki naj bi živele tam.Leonide Massine, ruski koreograf in plesalec je leta 1922 kupil otoček z imenom Gallo Lungo. Star aragonski stolp je spremenil v prostore s plesnim studijem in uredil gledališče na prostem, ki je bilo kasneje v viharju uničeno. Na mestu prvotne rimske zgradbe pa je zgradil vilo s spalnicami, ki so gledale proti Positanu in velikim vrtom na terasi v prvem nadstropju, obrnjenim proti rtu Licosa in Capriju.Po Massinovi smrti je leta 1988 otoke kupil ruski plesalec Rudolf Nureyev, ki je preživel zadnja leta svojega življenja tukaj. Vilo je preuredil v mavrskem slogu in tlakoval njeno notranjost s ploščicami iz 19. stoletja iz Seville. Zasadil je rastline za razsoljevanje z zanesljivo oskrbo z vodo, ki pomagajo pri razvoju vrtov.
Po smrti Nureyeva je leta 1996 otoke kupil Giovanni Russo, sorrentski hotelir, ki jih je imel za zasebno bivališče, poleg tega pa jih dal na voljo za zasebni najem z osebjem in nekom, ki je pripeljal goste s in na celino. Drugi se niso smeli izkrcavati na otoku, lahko pa so plavali v okoliških vodah.Neapeljski dramatik Eduardo De Filippo kupili otok Ischia, ki je še vedno v lasti njegovega sina Luca De Filippa.Ischia ima lepo vilo in vrt oba strani, ki gleda v prepad (in zato niso vidni, če se napotijo v ozadje otoka). Otok je opisala dramatikova žene Izabele v knjigi z naslovom V morju je otok... Lastnina se je skozi leta prodajala na trgu, zadnja javna ponudba za tri otoke v letu 2011 je bila 268.000.000 ameriških dolarjev.
Restavracije raztresene po mestecu ponujajo tipično italijansko hrano: jastoge in ribe na žaru, kremasto mocarelo in paradižnik, pečen na olivnem olju, testenine z raznimi omakami, pizze,…
Ta del obale pogosto opisujejo kot najlepši v celotnem Sredozemlju. Ena za drugo se zelene in skalnate gore dramatično potapljajo v mediteransko modrem morju. Na slavni Amalfijski obali se cesta opira na pobočja, ki kažejo za vsakim ovinkom bolj osupljive podobe. Še nedavno je bil velik del te obale dostopen le s čolnom. Zdaj je to modno turistično območje, ki ohranja čar minulih časov.Če se pripeljete z ladjo iz Amalfija na plažo Grande, da bi videli obalo z morske strani je to nekaj, kar ne bi nikoli doživeli, če bi se odpeljali tja z avtom. Kot prihaja čoln bliže lepota postaja vse bolj osupljiva. Plaža sama je sestavljena iz kamnov, prodnikov, in grobega temnega peska. Na njej je precejšnja gneča, zato je bolje hoditi v mesto po pešpoti ob plaži, in si privoščiti malico in pivo v restavraciji s pogledom na plažo. Pogled s strani plaže je neverjeten. Ne morete si predstavljati, kako čudovito je mesto na pečinah, z vsemi svojimi lepimi barvami, ko stojiš na dnu in pogledaš gor. Najlepše je tu ob sončnem zahodu, ko sonce padečez obzorje in luči Positana zaljšajo to čudovito mesto.