Sunsets and Cetara, Amalfi Coast off the tourist trail

The vaporetto moves slowly as it does every morning on the route from Amalfi has Vietri sur Mare and lingers offshore near the pebble beach that separates itself from the water. A ribbon of land rises up the steep hill behind the Lattari Mountains and follows the path that winds its way between rocks, dry stone walls, improbable stone staircases. It undulates among the lemon trees of Mayori And Sunsetswhere he meets olive trees, tiny plots of vines, chestnut trees. In Amalfi Coast This is the most popular hiking route…

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monastery of Santa Maria de Oleariamonastery of Santa Maria de Olearia
the monastery of Santa Maria de Olearia, on the Amalfi national road leading to Maiori

Amalfi Coast: stop at Tramonti along the Sentiero delle Formichelle

Six kilometers of average difficulty offering vertical observation points on the sea, once practiced by women who tirelessly transported goods like so many little ants. Hence the name, Formichelle Path.

The House of Taste of Tramonti

It is expected that many will leave the beaches and take this route to reach the House of taste in Tramontiwhere last July the headquarters was inaugurated where courses dedicated to cooking, baking and above all to cuisine are organized. pizza.

Pizza TramontiPizza Tramonti
Tramonti pizza: dough made with wholemeal flours from different cereals, cooked for just three minutes at 350°C © iStock

Tramonti's Pizza

“This is an opportunity to start reviving the tradition of our pizza, characterized by a sourdough dough prepared with a mixture of wholemeal flours from different cereals that rise for at least 36 hours. The cooking time is only 3 minutes at a temperature of 350 °C, lower than that of other pizzas”, explains Alfonso Simeone under the pergola of the Le Frescale Restaurant.

The scent of wild fennel wafts from the room and soaks into the dough, while in San Francisco, another historic pizzeria, Francesco Maiorano invites anyone who misses the July event to come back.

“This pizza, topped with a few intensely flavored ingredients, can be enjoyed all summer long on Thursdays and Saturdays.”

READ ALSO: World Pizza Day: Secrets, curiosities (and absurd versions) of Italy's symbolic dish

The origin of Tramontina pizza

In fact, the name of the city in Campania is linked to that of a real “school of thought”. The chronicles speak of Luigi Giordano, originally from Tramontino, who emigrated to the Novara area in the 1950s. There he added fiordilatte to the traditional ingredients (tomato, garlic, salted anchovies, oregano), maintaining the dough and cooking methods of the country of origin.

Given the success, many have followed him from Tramonti and today there are more than two thousand original Tramonti establishments around the world (pizzatramonti.com).

READ ALSO: Pizza: 15 cult places in Naples

Wine from the Amalfi Coast

“The celebrations of this first opening outside our territory continue throughout the month of August with the presence of many Tramonti pizza makers who will interpret our idea of ​​pizza,” continues Simeone. To be enjoyed alongside another work of art, which perfectly combines nature and human wisdom: the wine.

“The great vocation of these lands of clay and ash from Vesuvius has allowed the arrival of pre-phylloxera vines, which allow us to produce a wine with a unique character,” explains Gaetano Bove of Tenuta San Francesco in front of a red grape. Tintoré (Tel. 089.87.64.34).

What to see in Tramonti, the green lung of the Amalfi Coast

The gastronomic pretext also serves to learn moregreen island of the Amalfi coast. You can stretch your legs with an easy walk to discover Rock Chapel of Gete and other caves inhabited by monks from the 5th century.

Or you can undertake the Path of the Thirteen Churchesa little more stimulating, to discover the thirteen villages Intramounted and the Saints Joseph and Therese Conservatory.

Formerly a place of training for young noble girls, it later became a convent of nuns who are said to have developed Concerto there, a liqueur made from 15 medicinal herbs grown in the house's garden.

Overwhelmed by the intensity of the colours of nature, the mountain air and the scent of the sea that opens up like in a cinemascope of Mortella's Point of Viewyou can decide to go down to Minorsamong the white and red oleanders. There is this Basilica of Santa Trofimenain the foreground with its bell tower and, in front, Atrani And Amalfi. A photo is a must before heading towards the coast.

The ancient Romans chose Minori as a holiday destination, emblem ofotium Latin. Here, the remains of the Seaside villa They create an open-air art gallery and it is worth lingering over the still bright colours of the half-columns and walls.

Although today the ochre alleys and old fishermen's houses breathe the scent of citrus sweets, the buildings facing the sea were originally mills and pasta factories. “So much so that the ancestor of pasta, thendundero“a giant dumpling of ricotta, flour, egg yolk, parmesan and nutmeg, was born in Minori,” explains Giovanni Cozzolino, chef of the Sal de Riso restaurant. “We present the traditional shape in a terracotta pan seasoned with Neapolitan ragù and gratinated with provola cheese.”

READ ALSO: Discovering the secret villages of the Sorrento Peninsula

What to see in the nearby village of Cetara

To continue discovering an Amalfi Coast outside the most popular itineraries, you can join the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria a Mare in Maioriwith latch for agile stairs. The best way, by sea, to discover hidden bays.

In view of the port of Maiori, there is a scent of leather and a lot of history in the Alfonso Dattilo's typical sandals workshop (Tel. 089.85.15.95), which has been manufacturing hand-sewn shoes “in leather only” since the 1960s. From Maiori by sea, the next mooring point is at Cetara.

Watchtowers, coves and white houses clinging to the slopes pass by until the same voices of the fishermen who, over the centuries, have travelled the Mediterranean in search of blue fish, tuna and anchovies can be heard in the port. To pay tribute to them, a plaque dated 1898 affixed to the façade of the Church of St. Peterwith a yellow-green dome.

anchovy dish from Al Convento restaurant © Alessandra Farinellianchovy dish from Al Convento restaurant © Alessandra Farinelli
One of the anchovy dishes at the Al Convento restaurant © Alessandra Farinelli

Cetara Anchovies

“Colatura was born from Cetara, a reddish-amber sauce obtained by dissolving fish preserved in salt for a few months in chestnut barrels, the quadrigni,” reveals Secondo Squizzato, president of the association.Association of Friends of Anchovy.

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Meanwhile, it is evening and the last ferry passes offshore. Its trace disappears behind the pile of the vice-regal tower. And from the pier, savoring the silence is priceless.

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