View of Positano with Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta Church, Positano, Salerno, Amalfi Coast, Campania, Italy - stock photo

Stefan Auth/Getty

Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta

Positano

LoginSave

Omnipresent in most Positano photos is the colourful majolica-tiled dome of its main church (and the town's only real sight). If you are visiting at a weekend you will probably have the added perk of seeing a wedding; it’s one of the most popular churches in southern Italy for exchanging vows.

The church is known for a 13th-century Byzantine Black Madonna and Child above the main altar. The icon was supposedly stolen from Constantinople by pirates and smuggled west.

A handsome 18th-century bell tower stands separate from the main church building in the piazza out front.

During restoration works on the square and the crypt, a Roman villa was discovered, but this was still under excavation and closed to the public at the time of writing.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Water carriers from Herculaneum, Museo Archeologico Nazionale.

    Museo Archeologico Nazionale

    19.88 MILES

    Naples' National Archaeological Museum serves up one of the world’s finest collections of Graeco-Roman artefacts. Originally a cavalry barracks and later…

  • Royal Palace of Capodimonte, Naples

    Museo di Capodimonte

    20.57 MILES

    Originally designed as a hunting lodge for Charles VII of Bourbon, the monumental Palazzo di Capodimonte was begun in 1738 and took more than a century to…

  • NAPLES, ITALY - JUNE 11: The Modesty of Antonio Corradini in the Sansevero Chapel during the reopening to the public on June 11, 2020 in Naples, Italy. The Sansevero Chapel Museum can be visited again after the closure imposed by the lockdown for the covid-19 emergency, exactly thirty years after the reopening to the public after the restoration works which in 1990 returned to the fruition the baroque masterpieces of the chapel commissioned by Raimondo di Sangro and the Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino sculpted in 1753, today a symbol of the Neapolitan Baroque. (Photo by Ivan Romano/Getty Images) 1249041534

    Cappella Sansevero

    19.51 MILES

    It's in this Masonic-inspired baroque chapel that you'll find Giuseppe Sanmartino's incredible sculpture, Cristo velato (Veiled Christ), its marble veil…

  • Carved head, Casa dei Nettuno e Anfitrite, Herculaneum.

    Ruins of Herculaneum

    14.28 MILES

    Herculaneum harbours a wealth of archaeological finds, from ancient advertisements and stylish mosaics to carbonised furniture and terror-struck skeletons…

  • Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompeii 60092; Accidents and Disasters; Ancient; Ancient Civilization; Antiquities; Archaeology; Architectural Column; Architecture; Asia; Atlantic Islands; Boulder - Rock; Buried; Campania; City; Demolished; Disaster; Empire; Environmental Damage; Ephesus; Flores; Flores Island - Indonesia; Fortified Wall; Green Color; History; Horizontal; Italian Culture; Italian Currency; Italy; Landscape; Misfortune; Monte; Monument; Mountain; Mountain Range; Mt Vesuvius; Naples - Italy; No People; Old; Old Ruin; Outdoors; Photography; Pompeii; Rock - Object; Social Issues; Sorrento - Italy; Statue; Stone - Object; Stone Material; Temple - Building; The Past; Tower; Travel Destinations; UNESCO; UNESCO World Heritage Site; Volcanic Landscape; Wall - Building Feature;

    Ruins of Pompeii

    8.45 MILES

    The ghostly ruins of ancient Pompeii (Pompei in Italian) make for one of the world's most engrossing archaeological experiences. Much of the site's value…

  • Scenic picture view of the city of Naples Napoli with famous Mount Vesuvius in the background from Certosa di San Martino monastery, Campania, Italy; Shutterstock ID 2105276987; purchase_order: 65050; job: poi; client: ; other: 2105276987

    Certosa e Museo di San Martino

    19.68 MILES

    The high point (quite literally) of the Neapolitan baroque, this charterhouse-turned-museum was built as a Carthusian monastery between 1325 and 1368…

  • Burial chamber at the San Gennaro Catacombs

    Catacombe di San Gennaro

    20.57 MILES

    Naples' oldest and most sacred catacombs became a Christian pilgrimage site when San Gennaro's body was interred here in the 5th century. The carefully…

  • View of Castello Aragonese

    Castello Aragonese

    28.31 MILES

    There are castles and then there’s Ischia’s Castello Aragonese, a veritable fort-city set on its own craggy islet, looking like a cross between Harry…

View more attractions

Nearby Positano attractions

1. Palazzo Murat

0.03 MILES

Just west of the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta, this palazzo is now a luxury hotel. It may be beyond your budget to stay here, but you can still visit the…

2. Spiaggia Grande

0.07 MILES

Spiaggia Grande probably isn't anyone's idea of a dream beach, with greyish sand covered by legions of bright umbrellas lined up like parked cars – and…

3. Franco Senesi

0.07 MILES

Nestled between trendy boutiques and lemon-themed ceramics shops, Franco Senesi is a bold, uncluttered exhibition space with rooms showcasing work by over…

4. Spiaggia del Fornillo

0.28 MILES

From Positano's main beach, it's a gentle walk west, with an acceptable number of steps (hooray!) to Spiaggia del Fornillo. Toss off your stilettos and…

5. Spiaggia della Gavitelli

2.03 MILES

Accessible by a steep staircase (with 300 steps) from the village of Praiano or by boat from Marina di Praia, Gavitelli is a tiny but popular affair with…

6. Chiesa di San Luca

2.58 MILES

In the upper village, the 16th-century Chiesa di San Luca features a colourful majolica floor, paintings by the 16th-century artist Giovanni Bernardo Lama…

7. Chiesa San Matteo Apostolo

2.79 MILES

Built in 1580 and tweaked numerous times since, this is Bomerano's architectural centrepiece. The marble baptismal font dates from the second half of the…

8. Torre a Mare

2.94 MILES

Defensive towers sit all along the Amalfi Coast; ironically, they are generally known as Saracen towers, named after the very invaders they were erected…