Book 6 Amalfi Coast Photos by bethsj

$Amalfi: statue of Flavio Gioia, whom residents credit with the invention of the magnetic compass in 1302. Historians can\'t verify he actually existed, but an improvement to the compass did occur in Amalfi during that time period. photo Amalfi1.jpg$

Amalfi: statue of Flavio Gioia, whom residents credit with the invention of the magnetic compass in 1302. Historians can\'t verify he actually existed, but an improvement to the compass did occur in Amalfi during that time period.

Taken: Jul 16, 2006

0
0

waterfront area of Amalfi. The Amalfi coast is named for this town, which was one of the first cities to trade goods between Europe and points East after Rome fell.

Taken: Jul 16, 2006

0
0

$The Duomo (cathedral) of Amalfi, built c. 1000-1300. We climbed all those stairs, and thought it was closed--turns out we could\'ve gone in a different door... photo Amalfi3.jpg$

The Duomo (cathedral) of Amalfi, built c. 1000-1300. We climbed all those stairs, and thought it was closed--turns out we could\'ve gone in a different door...

Taken: Jul 16, 2006

0
0

Amalfi was a powerful maritime republic in the 10th and 11th centuries. Today its residents mostly live off tourism.

Taken: Jul 16, 2006

0
0

There are some beautiful ceramic shops in Amalfi and other towns in Italy. We saw some gorgeous ceramics in Florence, too. Note the lemons on some of the pots.

Taken: Jul 16, 2006

0
0

This is a neat shop we visited in Amalfi. We bought wine here to ship home--Lacrima de Christi--the tears of Christ.

Taken: Jul 16, 2006

0
0

The area of the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento produces several different kinds of lemons. You see them everywhere: painted on ceramics, bottles of limoncello (a candy-like liquor with a big kick), and lemons at the fruit stand the size of a softball!

Taken: Jul 16, 2006

0
0

The drive along the Amalfi coast was beautiful. Bob sat by the window and took pictures.

Taken: Jul 15, 2006

0
0

A view along the Amalfi coast

Taken: Jul 15, 2006

0
0

We were up very high as we drove along the Amalfi coast. At points the road was very narrow and there were a lot of switchbacks.

Taken: Jul 15, 2006

0
0

$The bus drivers all agree that the Amalfi coast highway is the worst to drive. At one point our bus was going up and another was going down and because there were two curves at that point, they couldn\'t pass! photo Amalficoast8.jpg$

The bus drivers all agree that the Amalfi coast highway is the worst to drive. At one point our bus was going up and another was going down and because there were two curves at that point, they couldn\'t pass!

Taken: Jul 15, 2006