A PHOTO GALLERY of ITALY 2019
I have been getting requests for more photographs from our trip. I am going to put together a raw gallery of photos for you to enjoy here. I will try to label all of them with captions so that you can get an idea of why I took them at least. I apologize in advance for any that are duplicates of anything already on this page.
Without having to read my prior blog entries, these pictures will be gleaned from our trip the Amalfi Coast of Italy and our stay in the town of Atrani Italy for two weeks starting on May 22, 2019. Our arrival coincided with my 55th birthday!
saracen tower 
a private Island 
ahh, the sea life 
first vesuvius shot 
the Neapolitan menace 
just a pretty launch 
oh, Mr. Bond… 
amalfi church 
donkey fountain 
Amalfi main street 
fresh fish 
Amalfi’s racing boat 
spot the boys? 
church steps 
Atrani letter box 
red letter box 
bell tower 
laundry day 
hmmm, more stairs 
terrace gardening 
lemon terraces 
sheer face terraces 
teraces 
more terraces 
rooftop terrace 
stormy mountain 
roadside saint 
Atrani’s Anchor 
ready for the first jaunt 
your donkey, sir 
just a window in the rock wall 
Atrani at night 
Atrani 
the hotel lit up in Atrani 
donkey fountain 
the knave in Positano 
modern mosaic 
convent of Saint Francis of Assissi 
furore beach 
tiles of the coast 
more tiles 
old linen mill 
City of art 
the way to the valley of the Dragone river 
girls side 
boys side 
Ollie catching up on sun 
pontone 
remains of the basilica of Sant’Eustachio. 
looking from Ravello to Maiori 
scala church 
The Tyrrhenian far below 
Just a lost tomato in Italy 
top of the mill area 
mill access 
an old APE 3 wheeler 
old mill being slowly renovated inside, locked behind a very old door 
abandoned mill 
mill tower 
mill roof 
mill waterworks 
mill watercourse 
mill 
hilltop villa, smugglers cave below? 
mill 
unknown building in mill district 
we walk under a house in this area 
a smooth portion of the trail 
tunnel to Pontone 
we need to be down there in the old mill area 
one of the Dragone’s. Chameleons everywhere 
the river Dragone 
This way guys 
a gate to nowhere 
lemon orchard 
getting some carbs for the trail 
Humphrey’s room, yeah…Bogart 
Ravello on a church day 
terrace garden 
Ravello center 
another old gate to nowhere 
Capri marina grande 
approach to capri 
Ollie on Capri 
boat traffic on Capri 
Capri courtyard, everyone has a boat here 
Buffalo Margherita pizza, a favorite indulgence 
morning calories for the boys 
both styles together 
Faraglioni Islands in view 
some foundations… 
a jumbled sea 
beautiful shoreline 
hillside hotel 
Positano beach 
my romantic vision of the sea 
tile map of the island 
smugglers cave? 
another smugglers cave? 
private hidden beach 
living in the past 
Sorrento tower 
drop it here 
a pretty boat at Positano 
a high grotto 
limestone tooth 
another smugglers cave? 
An Island hotel 
Ollie loving the ride 
typical small 30 foot boat 
Bond? 
the Saracens were here too 
straight up to the coast road 
hilltop homes 
Saracen lighthouse 
across Naples bay to Vesuvius 
living with the rocks 
hillside house 
Praiano 
convent turned hotel in Amalfi 
a statue welcoming and saluting the mariners to Capri 
Anacapri church 
Enjoying lunch in Capri 
just hillside homes 
resort by the Faraglioni islands 
luncheon 
passage through the Faraglioni islands 
grotta blanco 
just a Capri home on the hill 
guardian of Anacapri 
Atrani beach 
Atrani beach 
La Casa di Masaniello, where we are living 
Atrani, Italy beach 
the night crew cleaning up the square 
vesuvius in the background 
the road from Naples 
Amalfi stacked up 
Amalfi skyline 
Amalfi spring fountain 
Amalfi shopping 
The road 
The road from Atrani to Amalfi 
Amalfi street 
pretty launch 
the chiesa above Atrani 
church above atrani 
Amalfi fishing boat 
a look toward Scala from our rooftop 
looking up to scala
One of the most famous attributes of the Amalfi Coast is the steps. There are steps everywhere and to everywhere. This coastal area isn’t flat, it is limestone mountains soaring directly from the sea to the heights above so the natives had to develop pathways from town to town whether it’s around the next bend or 1500 feet above.
church steps hmmm, more stairs laundry day 
church steps 
Ravello steps 
ancient steps 
leaving our restaurant 
the steps down into town 
the stairs to our terrace 
our square, more stairs 
neighbors stairs 
Atrani passage 
road? to the neighbors 
disused and locked away stairway 
no stairs! 
alleyway the chiesa above Atrani, only available by stairs
I think you get my message, steps and pathways everywhere. We ate anything we wanted and actually lost a couple pounds while on vacation on the Amalfi Coast!
I’m not sure if this is our only trip to Italy in our lifetimes. I’m not sure if we will ever be back to Amalfi and our acquaintances in Atrani. There are a few things that I am sure about though. I found the people and the countryside to be to my liking. These people are passionate about theirs lives from living daily to politics. Everyone has an opinion and voices it. It was fun to see the old men and women in the town squares passionately discussing the topic of the day. These are the descendants of people who scratched a life and towns out of the sides of a soaring limestone mountain range and turned it into a prosperous, major sea power! The food, contrary to popular belief, was not heavy and mostly just simple and tasty. Made from ingredients that are sourced locally on those terraces pictured above and picked daily. Each town has a fishing fleet and the seafood is caught and purchased daily (don’t expect to buy any from the market after noon, it’s sold out). The soaring views and rugged country appeals to the viewer as they look across the sea and the misty morning mountain vistas.
Interestingly, I think that this coast of Italy hasn’t really changed since the 7th century. Amalfi, along with Pisa, Venice and Genoa was one of the most powerful maritime republics. Current day Amalfi hearkens back to a time when there were only sail driven ships plying the waters of the seas, coming into the ports to trade and re-provision (Amalfi produces their own type of lemon for scurvy prevention). The visitors from far away flocked to the streets and markets of Amalfi to trade and purchase exotic textiles and goods. You can and do walk the same streets and often go into the same shops that those historic traders walked and used to ply their trades. Today those traders just come by bus and cruise ship to buy fine textiles and exotic trade goods and get a really tasty meal or two.
I hope, gentle reader, that I have left you with a desire for more… More photos, more food, more information. If you have the opportunity to go to this amazing place, you should take it! As you know from my general theme, I encourage you to get out and explore no matter whether it is in your own back yard or exotic and far away lands.
As always….get out there and explore!
BFD
