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.

San Giovanni a Carbonara

This 14th-century church has no façade of its own but is reached by a double staircase through a courtyard to the left of the Chapel of Santa Monica. Inside are a circular chapel with 15th-century frescoes and basreliefs by Spanish masters Bartolomé Ordoñez and Diego de Siloe.
San Gregorio Armeno

This church is best known for the cult of St Patricia, whose blood “liquefies” each Tuesday.
San Lorenzo Maggiore

After World War II bombs reduced much of this church to rubble, it was rebuilt to its 13th-century style, save the Baroque façade.
San Lorenzo Maggiore

Under the church, excavations have revealed 2,000-year-old streets, complete with shops and a porticoed arcade.
San Paolo Maggiore

The 8th-century church still retains two Corinthian columns and has an annexed sanctuary.
San Pasquale, Naples

Spices and fish stalls, clothing and jewellery.
San Pietro a Maiella

Built in the 1300s, San Pietro underwent a Baroque makeover in the 1600s then was returned to Gothic style in the 1900s.
San Pietro ad Aram

Tradition holds that St Peter celebrated his first mass in Naples here, although historians claim the church is 12th-century.
San Pietro, Positano

This 5-star hotel is 2 km (1 mile) east of Positano proper, but to the stellar clientele who are drawn to this marvellous place, it is well worth a bit of isolation. No fewer than 20 terraces, hewn out of the rock, feature individual accommodations with private balconies and Jacuzzis. A lift takes guests down to the foyer from the carpark above, and a second lift delivers you to the private beach far below.
San Severo Catacombs

Naples’ first bishop was buried here in the 4th century and, as was customary, a large underground cemetery grew up around his tomb. Among the catacombs’ paintings is a fresco showing the earliest images in Naples of saints Peter and Paul.

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Hotel price categories

For a standard, double room per night (with breakfast if included), taxes and extra charges.
- under €100
- €100–150
- €150–200
- €200–300
- over €300