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 The
steep southern slopes of
the Lattari mountains between Positano and Vietri sul Mare are characterized
by rocky spurs, overhanging bulwarks and ravines that make this section
of the peninsula practically inaccessible and have forced the inhabitants
to make their living from the sea. The harsh Lattari mountain chain
has always represented a sort of insurmountable barrier that has avoid
the easy access for all the travellers for years . The 40 Km long Amalfitana
main road, inaugurated in 1853 by Ferdinand II of Bourbon, is the only
one that runs along the coast. The inhospitable cliffs and craggy rocks
have allowed the Amalfi Coast to maintain most of the impressive yet
charming beauty that began to attract hoards of visitors from throughout
the world at the beginning of the nineteenth century for its mild climate,
suggestive sense of isolation, fascinating landscape and ancient memories.
Leaving aside the tourists that crowd all the tourist resorts during the
summer months, throughout the rest of the year Villages built at the headlands
and in the bays, surrounded and overlooked by terraces of vineyards, citrus
orchards and vegetable plots, appear to be enchanted places where time
has stood still. After Positano there are three little islands, called
Li Galli, and as the legend suggests....in the beginning there were the
Mermaids, who tried to cast a spell over the insensitive Ulysses with their
song, only to be turned to stone for their humiliating disappointment,
the three crags of the Sirenusae. The islands have been owned by the famous
Russian choreographer Leonide Massine for forty years, then acquired in
1988 by the ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyevt. The coast line appears particularly
wild and solitary and this languidness and seduction of it have been always
the inspirer Muses of artists, musician and writers such as: Arthur Meadows,
Giovanni Lanza, Achille Vianelli, Angelo Della Mura, Franco Zeffirelli
(with his villa in Positano), Lawrence Olivier, Liz Taylor, Carla Fracci,
Liza Minnelli, Placido Domingo, Alberto Moravia, John Steinbeck, Roman
Vlad, Eduardo De Filippo, Wagner Greta Garbo, Leopold Stokovskj, etc. |
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