Amalfi Coast
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Amalfi environmentsThe Emerald Grotto is nearby and is reached by steps or lift and then by rowing through exceptionally clear water in this marine cave is illuminated indirectly by rays of sunlight giving it a beautiful emerald color of extraordinary depth. Reflected in the water are the marvelous golden colored stalactites which are suspended from the cave roof. The road winds on towards a sight that suddenly bursts into view as you emerge from a tunnel gouged through a cliff. It is unbelievably pretty; tall, white houses, churches and towers perch atop rocky precipices in the Molini Valley facing a bay of azure blue with a backdrop of rugged mountains. Three miles of Praiano, the grotto is reached from the coastal road via a descent by elevator, which costs 3 Euro, including the boat ride. Then you board a boat that traverses the eerie world of the grotto. The stalagmites are unique in that some are underwater. You can visit daily 10 am to 4pm. Take the Sita bus in Praiano going toward Amalfi. The best way to go is by boat from Amalfi or Praiano, leaving from the docks and costing 6 Euro round trip, plus the 3 Euro entry fee.
FuroreA corner of Norway, cut in the Mediterranean rock, that is Furore valley, a fiord, a deep wound in the territory of the Coast, along which the stream roaming downwards from the Agerola mountain flows, calm in summer, but rumbling and terrible in winter. All around, clinging to the fiord precipices, the houses and the small terraced gardens which make up the village. Below, where the fiord encounters the sea, a small sandy beach, framed by the steep valley walls and high, up there, the bridge of the state road which crosses the narrow gorge. Here it is possible to leave the asphalt strip and, from step to step, from garden to terrace, you can go up to the woods of Agerola, walking between the sea and the sky, the earth and perhaps Paradise. At Furore Greta Garbo stayed during her romantic involvement towards Ravello. On Ravello, undoubtedly one of the most suggestive places of the whole Coast, Alfonso Gatto wrote a splendid rhymed card the meaning of which is as follows: "the calm houses dreaming of the rosy charm of the hillocks, go down towards the sea, as isles, as villas, near the churches". Courtesy of Hotel Onda Verde - Amalfi Coast
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