DK Travel : Naples & the Amalfi Coast

From one perspective, this area is an anomaly, at once one of the earth’s most beautiful and yet most accursed places. It has been the choice of the great and wealthy as their playground, while also being the scene of some of the greatest natural disasters and the grittiest human misery. Perhaps these irreconcilable twists of fate are at the root of the Neapolitans’ famously optimistic cynicism. The city of Naples itself is a vibrant urban setting, almost non-European in its intensity, while the beauty of the surrounding coast has been known to make grown men weep.

Queen Joan I

Joan (1343–81) was so loved by the people that they forgave her for plotting the murder of her husband.
Ravello

A beautiful little town to visit nestled in the mountainside above Amalfi - it is a lovely walk through the town and then up through lemon groves to get there. Ravello has some lovely gardens and a beautiful church you can visit or you be treat yourself to a drink in one of the posh hotels, have a gorgeous Italian icecream or sample the amazing local pizza!
Ravello

In the 13th century Ravello was an important player in the sea trade and the medieval look accounts for its captivating beauty.
Ravello

High above the gorgeous Amalfi Coast this serenely elegant town offers unforgettable views, gorgeous gardens, aristocratic architecture and poetic inspiration.
Ravello

This remarkable little town floats above the Amalfi Coast like a dream and has attracted its share of visionaries over the centuries, from artists to composers, to actors and philosophers. Notable visitors have included Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, André Gide, D.H. Lawrence, Graham Greene and Gore Vidal, a current resident. Sumptuous palaces and their gardens, most now turned into exclusive hotels, recall Ravello’s heyday centuries ago as a major mercantile centre and a political force to be reckoned with. But any visitor will be content simply with the astounding panoramas along the coast, that seem to stir the poetic inclinations in everyone who comes here.
Recent International Films

Naples and the coast have provided the setting for films as diverse as the fifth Star Wars instalment, which used the Royal Palace at Caserta for the queen’s abode, and The Talented Mr Ripley , wherein the protagonists soak up the sun in a beach town near the city.
Red Wine

Full-bodied reds come from the local Aglianico grape.
Regattas

A more picturesque body of water to hold a splendid regatta on would be hard to imagine, and this stretch of the Tyrrhenian Sea has its share. These include the Vela Longa in May, open to all sailboats, and the “Regatta of the Three Gulfs” namely Gaeta, Naples and Salerno, held in early June. Every four years the traditional “Regatta of the Maritime Republics”, which include Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa and Venice, also occurs in June – the next one is scheduled for 2005. The colourful scenario generally involves each former republic sending out its galleon in mock combat, then they race alongside other craft.
Reggia di Caserta

This 18th-century palace was built by the Bourbons. Neapolitan Baroque at its most refined, it is built around four courtyards and has 1,200 lavish rooms. Highlights include the Great Staircase and the Throne Room. The park has a number of huge fountains, decorated with statuary, culminating in the Grande Cascata, plummeting 78 m (255 ft).
Reggia di Portici & the Vesuvian Villas

The Vesuvian Villas were begun by King Charles III and Queen Maria in the 18th century. His Reggia (palace), designed by Antonio Medrano, was the first and greatest of the villas, the rest of which were built by other members of the Bourbon court. For the most part the villas are now dilapidated, but there are plans to save as many as possible.