Instead of Positano: Atrani, Italy's Tiniest Borgo Clinging to the Rock
Five hundred metres from Amalfi's crowds, Atrani has a seafront piazza, a Byzantine church and zero souvenir shops. The Amalfi Coast's best-kept secret.
Foto: Sharon Hahn Darlin (CC BY 4.0) — Flickr
Atrani is Italy's smallest municipality by area: 0.12 square kilometres of white houses clinging to the rock, stairways climbing through the darkness of covered passageways, and a small piazza on the beach that is the most intimate parlour on the Amalfi Coast. It is five hundred metres from Amalfi — literally around the corner — yet tourists almost never find their way here.
Piazza Umberto I opens directly onto the beach: a few tables, a bar, the church of San Salvatore de' Birecto with its eleventh-century Byzantine bronze door (one of the oldest in Italy). Here the doges of the Maritime Republic of Amalfi were crowned with the birrictum — the ducal cap — and the church still carries the atmosphere of those centuries of maritime glory.
The borgo is explored by climbing: steps, arches, passages linking the houses like a vertical village. There are no souvenir shops, no limoncello stalls, no restaurants displaying photo menus outside. There are houses where people live, a dairy selling mozzarella and ricotta, and a handful of trattorias where you eat watching the sea.
Atrani's beach is small — around forty metres — but in low season it is a peaceful corner where the sound of the waves drowns out everything else. In summer it is shared with the few who have discovered the secret, but it will never be as crowded as Amalfi's Marina Grande.
From Atrani, a path climbs to Valle delle Ferriere — a lush gorge with waterfalls and giant ferns that feels tropical — and connects Amalfi to Ravello through a walking route that is the finest way to experience the coast.
Eating in Atrani is simple and good: scialatielli ai frutti di mare, stuffed squid, melanzane alla parmigiana, and the local sfogliatella that rivals Naples's finest. Prices are thirty to forty per cent lower than in Amalfi and Positano.
Atrani is reached on foot from Amalfi (five minutes along the coast road or through a pedestrian tunnel), by SITA bus from Salerno, or by ferry (stop at Amalfi, then walk). It has no parking of its own — one more reason to leave the car in Salerno and travel by public transport.
Practical guides
Practical info
When is the best time to visit Instead of Positano?
The recommended time is April, May, June, September and October, when it is less crowded.
Is Instead of Positano crowded?
Instead of Positano is a very quiet destination compared with the more touristy ones.
Where is Instead of Positano?
Instead of Positano is located in Atrani, Campania, Italy.
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