Introducing Positano
The pearl in the pack, Positano is the coast’s most photogenic and expensive town. Its steeply stacked houses are a medley of peaches, pinks and terracottas, and its near-vertical streets (many of which are, in fact, staircases) are lined with flamboyant shop displays, jewellery stalls, elegant hotels and smart restaurants. Look closely though and you’ll find reassuring signs of everyday reality – crumbling stucco, streaked paintwork and even, on occasion, a faint whiff of drains.
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An early visitor, John Steinbeck wrote in 1953: ‘Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.’ More than 50 years on his words still ring true.
Last updated: Oct 27, 2008
