4 Best Sights in Amalfi Coast, Italy

Just before the ferry ticket booths to the right of Spiaggia Grande, a tiny road that is the loveliest seaside walkway on the entire coast rises up and borders the cliffs leading to Fornillo Beach. The road is named for the town's large number of 19th-century emigrants to the United States—Positano virtually survived during World War II thanks to the money and packages their descendants sent back home. Halfway up the path lies the Torre Trasìta (Trasìta Tower), the most distinctive of Positano's three coastline defense towers. Now a residence occasionally available for summer rental, the tower was used to spot pirate raids. As you continue along the Via Positanesi d'America, you'll pass a tiny inlet and an emerald cove before Fornillo Beach comes into view.

A statue, set in an ironically disorienting traffic roundabout in front of the harbor, honors the Amalfitano credited with inventing the maritime compass in the Middle Ages. Many say it was the Chinese who invented the compass, passing the idea along to the Arabs, who traded with Amalfi; Gioia may have adapted it for sea use (for the record, some historians believe there was no such person as Gioia).

This gateway "door" to the harbor bears a huge ceramic panel, created by Renato Rossi in the 1950s, commemorating the trade routes of the republic during the Middle Ages. In one example, ships loaded with Italian timber sold the wood for gold in North Africa, then used the gold to buy gems, spices, and silks in Asia to trade back in Italy. Walk 200 feet along Corso delle Repubbliche Marinare, past the tourist office, to see the ceramic panel created by Diodoro Cossa in the 1960s. The scenes illustrate local historical highlights, among them Roman refugees establishing themselves in nearby Scala in the 4th century, the founding of Amalfi by these same Romans, Amalfi's commercial and diplomatic role in the Mediterranean, the arrival of St. Andrew's body, and the invention of the maritime compass.

The walkway from the Piazza Flavio Gioia leads down to Spiaggia Grande, Positano's main beach, bordered by an esplanade and some of the town's busiest restaurants. Surrounded by the spectacular amphitheater of houses and villas that leapfrog up the hillsides of Monte Comune and Monte Sant'Angelo, this remains one of the most picturesque beaches in the world. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming.