Skip Amalfi: Cetara, a Fishermen's Borgo on the Authentic Coast

Cetara: where the Amalfi Coast still belongs to fishermen

The Amalfi Coast is one of the most photographed stretches of coastline in the world, but Amalfi itself has become a victim of its own success: gridlocked roads, sky-high prices and a historic centre that in summer feels like a theme park. Yet a few kilometres further east lies Cetara, a fishing borgo that still lives by the sea and by tradition.

A borgo that has stayed authentic

Cetara is a handful of pastel-coloured houses wedged between mountain and sea, with a Saracen tower watching over the bay and colourful boats hauled up on the beach. You will find no souvenir shops on every corner, no restaurants with menus in six languages. Instead, you will find fishermen mending nets at dawn and grandmothers hanging laundry between the alleyways.

- Honest prices: a fresh fish lunch costs half what you would pay in Amalfi, and the few B&Bs in the borgo offer sea-view rooms at accessible prices.

- Colatura di alici: Cetara is the only place in the world where colatura di alici is still produced using the traditional method, a direct descendant of Roman garum.

- Free beach: most of Cetara's beach is free — a rare thing on the Coast, where every square metre of sand comes at a price.

- Silence: no nightclubs, no late-night scene. An evening in Cetara is the sound of the sea and little else.

Colatura di alici: Cetara's liquid treasure

If there is one gastronomic reason to visit Cetara, it is the colatura di alici. This amber, intensely flavoured condiment is obtained from anchovies aged under salt in chestnut-wood barrels, through a process that lasts at least two years. The result is a golden liquid with a profoundly deep umami flavour that the people of Cetara use to dress their spaghetti on Christmas Eve.

Visit the artisan workshop of Nettuno or that of Delfino to see the production process and buy directly from the producers. The difference from the industrial products sold in supermarkets is vast.

What to see and do

The Torre Vicereale, built in the sixteenth century against Saracen raids, commands the harbour and today houses a museum dedicated to anchovy fishing. The Chiesa di San Pietro Apostolo, with its majolica-tiled dome, is the spiritual heart of the borgo. Stroll along the little harbour at sunset, when the fishermen return with the day's catch.

For the more active, the eastern variant of the Sentiero degli Dei (Path of the Gods) sets off from the heights above Cetara and offers spectacular views along the coast. Alternatively, the path climbing towards the Santuario dell'Avvocata rewards a demanding but unforgettable walk through lemon terraces and Mediterranean scrubland.

Where to eat

The restaurant Acquapazza, run by Gennaro Castiello, is the temple of Cetara's seafood cuisine: try the tubetti with colatura di alici or the seared tuna with Cetara onion. For a more casual lunch, Osteria Civico 24 serves freshly caught mixed fry at honest prices. Pescheria Battista sells the freshest fish and also makes marinated anchovy sandwiches to eat sitting on the harbour wall.

Do not leave without tasting a cuoppo di pesce fritto to eat as you walk, and Cetara's anchovies in all their forms: marinated, fried, salted, in colatura.

How to get there

Cetara lies on the SS163 between Vietri sul Mare and Amalfi. From Salerno it is reachable in twenty minutes by car or by SITA bus. The best advice is to arrive by train to Salerno and then take the coastal bus, avoiding the stress of driving the winding Amalfi road. In summer, ferries connect Cetara to Salerno and the other coastal villages.

When to go

The best periods are April–June and September–October, when the weather is perfect for swimming and prices are reasonable. In July, the Notte della Colatura is held — a festival dedicated to the borgo's emblematic product, with free tastings in the harbour: an unmissable event. Avoid August if you are looking for peace and quiet, although Cetara remains far more liveable than Amalfi or Positano.