Insiders Guide to Positano, Italy

Positano is a small town on the Amalfi Coast, in Campania, Italy. The main part of the city sits in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast.

Historically, Positano was a prosperous port of the Amalfi Republic in the 16th and 17th centuries. But by the mid-19th century, the town had fallen on hard times. More than half the population emigrated, mostly to Australia.

Positano was a relatively poor fishing village during the first half of the 20th century. It began to attract large numbers of tourists in the 1950s, especially after John Steinbeck published his essay about Positano in Harper's Bazaar in May, 1953: "Positano bites deep", Steinbeck wrote. "It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone."

According to Trip Advisor, the Top 10 Attractions of Positano are:

1. Ceramica Assunte
2. Il Canneto
3. Church of Santa Maria Assunta
4. Palazzo Murat
5. Spiaggia Grande
6. Grotta dello Smeraldo (Emerald Grotto)
7. American Bar - La Buca Di Bacco
8. Music on the Rocks
9. Spiaggia del Fornillo
10. Grotta La Porta

Positano has been featured in several films, including Only You (1994), and Under the Tuscan Sun (2003). It also hosts the annual Cartoons on the Bay Festival, at which Pulcinella awards for excellence in animation are presented. From July of 1967 and through most of the 1970s, Positano was home of singer-songwriter Shawn Phillips and was where most of his best known work was composed. Also, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones wrote the song "Midnight Rambler" in the cafes of Positano while on vacation.

Today, tourism is the major industry in Positano. Two of its hotels, Il San Pietro and Le Sirenuse, are frequently cited as among the best in the world.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Positano".