The legendary Costiera Amalfitana (Amalfi Coast) is one of the most famous stretches of coastline in the world, a series of soaring cliffs, deep gorges and tumbling whitewashed villages strung together by the SS 163 road. Blasted out of the sheer rock face, the Amalfi Coast Drive (‘the road of a thousand bends’) weaves and winds its narrow, thrilling way from Positano to Vietri sul Mare, slicing through olive and lemon groves, rising and falling above the shimmering sea.
The area was ‘discovered’ in the 1960s by the dolce vita jet set and soon became a magnet for the very rich and very glamorous. Today, it is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Italy, home to some of the country’s finest, most romantic – and most expensive – hotels.
