Positano
After the Second World War The small village on the Amalfi Coast near Sorrento became fashionable curort for writers, painters and singers including writer Steinbeck and the Rolling Stones.
Thousands of visitors every year came to positano for its picturesque landscape with cascades of colorful houses, isolated beaches and a local drink known all over Italy – Limoncello.
The origins of Positano are covered with the mist of uncertainty. This was once the house of the nymph Pasitea, a lover of Poseidon, god of the sea.
The three small isles nearby ‘Gallo Lungo’, ‘Rotonda’ and ‘Castelluccio’ were in the hands of Sirens, who tempted the sailors to steer into the rocks following their voice.
The crew of a ship commanded by Odysseus avoided the tragic end by filling ears with wax, preventing from hearing the Sirens’ songs.
These islands are known under one name as ‘Sirenuse’ or ‘Li Galli’.
During the time of Amalfi Republic Positano became the important port, which witnessed vessels of the merchants, and the pirates, to protect the village from the last ones, the system of warning towers was build around Positano.
The presence of the pirates in calm waters of Salerno Bay had sometimes positive influence. According to the local legend, their ship with the stolen painting of St.Mary stopped suddenly in the calm waters near the village, they were able to move along only after leaving the painting inside the small church, later renamed to Santa Maria dell’Asunta.
Among the several beaches around Positano are : Spiaggia Grande, the main beach and ferry port and Fornillo, a secluded beach, accessible either by a set of stairs from the grotto above or via a path from Spiaggia Grande.
[ photo courtesy of flynn wynn]
