A Visit to Vietri Sul Mare, Part 1
A dreamy summer getaway and handmade ceramics.
Giuseppe and I recently got back from the Amalfi Coast and what a dream! This was our first visit since 2021 when we did Sorrento, Gragnano, and Capri (another amazing trip). Our friends, an American Italian couple, were in town and invited us up. We love a good road trip so immediately said yes!
One thing that’ll never cease to amaze me is the casual way many Italians own multiple homes or properties, whether it be in the same town, out in campagna (countryside), or in another region. And yes, sometimes the property is split among 16 cousins because it’s been passed down so many times!
Many Italians, especially in the South, view land and homeownership as more of a birthright rather than a privilege/luxury (the opposite of the U.S.). And after asking friends how this came to be we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s mostly because their ancestors worked in agriculture or helped build towns so they feel a strong sense of ownership for those places. It feels like part of their heritage. Plus everyone deserves to have a place to call home!
So, when we were invited up to a cousins/zia’s/nonno’s house I didn’t think twice about it. And Italians being the masters of providing too many details yet no context at all, I didn’t expect much of an explanation for the trip. All I got was a ‘pack a swimsuit because we’re going to the beach’. Realizing this was the extent of the details for our trip I packed for Summer in Italy: swimsuits, coverups, shorts, skirts, sandals, wine, and extra virgin olive oil (because life is too short to use store-bought).
Shortly after eating one of the most buttery cornetto (Italian croissant) at a gas station, we arrived in Campania. The moment we exited for Salerno I stuck my head out of the window and took a huge inhale. Giuseppe and I absolutely adore Campania. The people, the food, the energy; it's one of those places that feels alive. And Naples happens to be one of our favorite cities in the world, although we wouldn’t be visiting this time around.
Off the main coastal road, we kept heading up and up until the street got so narrow there were traffic lights because cars could only pass in one direction. Finally, we arrived at our hilltop destination, Albori.
We did the traditional sweaty Amalfi greeting of lugging the luggage through gardens, piazzas, and up dangerously high steps. And as we dropped our bags we were rewarded with one of the most incredible views we’ve ever seen (see first image).
The Amalfi Coast is insanely crowded during the summer months and things seem to have gotten even worse over the past few years. Thankfully, Giuseppe and I have finally gotten to the point where we don’t need to be in the center of everything when we travel. In fact, we almost always prefer staying on the outskirts or in an adjacent town, so this was perfect.
Albori is a tiny town up above Vietri Sul Mare, which is AKA bthe gateway to the Amalfi Coast, and it’s quite literally at the end of the road (which deadends into a parking lot). With a population of just 300 (and dwindling), it’s great for folks that aren’t really into being around a lot of people. It’s quiet, an amazing place to sit and write, and as mentioned previously the views are just incredible. The town itself has precisely one restaurant and then there are a few more scattered along the hill on the way down.
But the magic of a place like Albori is just being… or as they say in Italian, ‘Il dolce far niente’, the sweetness of doing nothing. And that’s exactly what we did.
When we weren’t doing nothing at the house we were down doing nothing at the beach which was busy but not yet packed. Vietri Sul Mare is divided up into two sections, the hillside town (often referred to as just Vietri) and the Marina (AKA Marina di Vietri). The beaches are located at the Marina where there are lots of Lidos, beach clubs, scattered along the entire coast. Chairs, umbrellas, and other beach items need to be reserved ahead of time, especially during peak months like July or August.
We went to Il Calypso which was super convenient and had good swimming. While the water isn’t Calabria clear, it’s really refreshing and lovely. You can grab lunch at the club or head out to one of the local restaurants nearby, we suggest the latter but more on that in the next (paid) newsletter!
Important note: While Italy, especially the south, is very safe petty theft can still happen. The beach clubs have full-time staff that walk around and monitor things but it’s still important to keep an eye on your things while in the water.
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Ceramics in Vietri
The Amalfi Coast is well known for its ceramics with Vietri Sul Mare being the heart of it all. The city is a Unesco World Heritage Site and craftspeople have been making drop-dead gorgeous polychrome ceramics there since the 15th century.
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