As mentioned in a previous post we weren’t to keen on Amalfi. We found the town too busy and touristy for our liking with lots of crocodile lines of people following tour guides. This meant that apart from photographs of the Cathedral I didn’t take many photographs in Amalfi.
“The fountain “DE CAPE ‘E CIUCCI”
This fountain was built during the XVIII century in stone and two faces are in marble. The name derives from the old custom of when the donkeys (ciucci) which came down from the village of Pogerola laden with fruit, vegetables and wood, were led here to drink. Since 1974 the fountain has also been the centre point for a nativity scene, made of limestone and tufa, with characteristic figures, many of which are submerged by the flowing fountain water. The idea originated from Giuseppe Buonocore, Vincenzo Livano, Nicola Pepe and today the tradition is carried on by the Infante family.*
The above display captured my attention, it was a photo opportunity not to be missed. As I was framing my shot and waiting for a gap in the crowds a gentleman stopped beside me to see what I was photographing. When he saw the display it amused him in the same way that it had amused me which led to us having a brief conversation before we walked off on our respective ways.
*From a sign board above the fountain
We’ve planned to visit this summer. How did you get around? Did you drive?
We flew into Naples airport and had a private transfer to our hotel in Ravello. From Ravello we used public transport, buses down to Amalfi and scheduled boats to visit Salerno and Capri. The buses go further afield and you can hop on the boats to go a short distance up the coast.
Driving along the Amalfi coast is quite challenging. The bus rides from Ravello down to Amalfi were quite hair raising and my husband who is a confident driver said he would not have enjoyed driving in those conditions.
So if you plan to drive there I would suggest parking up your car when you get there and using the public transport that is available.
Were you happy with your choice of Ravello as a base? We were thinking of basing ourselves in Naples – catching the train to Pompeii and the boat to Amalfi as day trips.
I’ve heard there’s lots of crime in Naples, however, and that it might not be such a good base after all.
We liked Ravello because it was quiet but it did mean a bus journey down to Amalfi to get transport further afield. It is a bit out of the way for visiting Pompeii easily.
I have also heard that some parts of Naples suffer with crime. To get to Pompeii by train you could also consider Sorrento instead of Naples.
http://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/e/sorrento-tours-to-pompeii-herculaneum-vesuvius
Thank you!
You’re welcome
Go Amalfi! I would always choose to live on the coast, surrounded by the bay, port facilities, cruise ships, piers and waterside coffee shops. My house/flat would have to have a veranda overlooking the water.
Then Hobart is for you. Mediterranean climate, sailing boats in the middle of the city, the very largest cruise ships in our deep water port, beaches to lie about and about on
fantastic vinyards all around, historic villages (and convict prisons), the world-class privately owned museum at MONA, the best coffee in the Southern Hemisphere….. and everyone speaks English. Cherie should be heading this way. 
Although I was not keen on Amalfi due to the crowds of tourists I loved the hill top view of the coast from sleepy Ravello, with its fine restaurants and cafes
Amfortas, from your description of Hobart it sounds the perfect place for me to ’sit and rest a while’
We are surrounded by hills here. The views are magnificent. Yes you could sit a while and enjoy.
A pity the place was spoilt for you by too many tourists, Cherie
It just confirmed that choosing to stay in Ravello, which is a bit of the beaten track was the right choice for us
That’s a shame, CP. Amalfi’s the place everyone wants to go to, is it not? But I sense from your comments that we’d probably be disappointed too. You’re right about the photo opportunity not to be missed!
Stay in Ravello or one of the smaller towns along the coast. From those places you can get public transport; bus, boat, train to explore further afield.
A very unusual fountain – it does look busy there though. No wonder you were disappointed.
I don’t do crowds… We visited out of the tourist season, goodness knows what it would have been like in mid summer!
Portofino just along the coast is trying to curtail tourism for the same reasons, a case of becoming to popular and it’s happening in ever more places, Venice !
Perhaps I shouldn’t be recommending Ravello so much, it might meet the same mass tourism fate…
It reminds me of a choice we made when we visited Capri (subject of a future blog post). Should we visit the monastery or the garden? We liked the idea of both of them and after some discussion Mr C decided he would prefer a bit of history over a garden.
On our visit to the monastery we saw only two other people, we felt we had the place to ourselves. We ventured into the garden beyond the monastery which gave access to a spectacular view of coastal features and the sea beyond. As we looked up we could see a scene of three deep people in the garden we chose not to visit trying to see the same sea view that we were enjoying in peace and tranquility below.
i would say that you got some great pictures of the town Cherie… the last picture with the natural Viagra is interesting….peter:)
The last picture made me smile as it did the gentleman who stopped to chat with me
What a lovely place to build a funfair on a pier!
What no donkey rides and fish and chips?
At least they got gelato!
No room for a funfair or donkey rides!
Too many people in the way
Some great pictures here and I read some good info about Ravello and transportation.
You did see some wonderful architecture too. I love the houses ‘glued’ together.
If you look from the coast they all appear nestled on the hillside.
Astrid and I both hate too many tourists, Cherry, which is why we like to visit places in the off season as much as possible. But you still got some great shots…especially of all that Viagra!
We always try to go off season too.
Busy like Florence at the height of summer?
Possibly, I have not been to Florence yet but it is on my list.
I hope you had a good birthday yesterday.
very nice shots, CP. i like the cathedral and the building with the red paint and green shutters was very interesting too.
Thanks Ayush
My next post is a long post about the Cathedral complex of buildings.
Wonderful shots of amalfi dear Cherie!!!
Loved the each view ,beautiful architecture
that is great that in spite of crowed you enjoyed your trip and shared some very nice photos of the city
The architecture is quite fascinating.