Drive from Naples to Amalfi and Salerno (about 97km,60 miles)

10km/6mi east of Naples is Portici (26m/86ft; pop. 83,000), with a former royal palace which now houses the Faculty of Agriculture of Naples University.

Torre del Greco (51m/168ft; pop. 105,000) has, in the course of its history, been repeatedly covered with lava or destroyed by earthquakes.

Torre Annunziata (14m/46ft; pop. 60,000) has a villa painted in Pompeian style, a relic of the Roman town of Oplontis. This is the starting point for the ascent to Vesuvius.

Castellammare di Stabia (5m/17ft; pop. 73,000), a port built at the foot and on the lower slopes of an outlier of Monte Sant'Angelo, occupying the site of the Roman Stabiae, which was destroyed together with Pompeii in A.D. 79 (recent excavations; museum). The town is a favorite resort of the Neapolitans on account of its mineral springs, impregnated with sulfur and carbonic acid gas. In the Piazza del Municipio is the 16th century cathedral. In the southwest of the town are the harbor, with a long breakwater, and the spa establishments, with a ruined castle (13th century) on the hill above. In the Scanzano district, above the cathedral to the east, are the new Baths.

From Meta (111m/366ft; pop. 7,000) the road goes over a pass (310m/1,023ft) in the Monti Lattari to reach the south side of the Sorrento peninsula, looking on to the Bay of Salerno. The following stretch of road as far as Salerno, blasted out of the rocky coast high above the sea, is one of the most beautiful roads in the world, its charm enhanced by the many little towns and villages in a rather Oriental style of architecture which cling to the precipitous slopes. Out to sea, as the road reaches the coast, can be seen the little "Isles of the Sirens", usually known as Li Galli.

Positano (30m/99ft; pop. 3,000), a very picturesque little town extending up the steep rocky slopes above the sea, with square flat-roofed houses reminiscent of the Saracen period. From here the road continues along the wild and rugged coast, passing several old watch-towers on the coast below.

15km/9 miles: Amalfi. This seaside resort is not to be missed. Beyond Amalfi the road skirts the Capo d'Amalfi and along a stretch which is almost entirely blasted out of the cliffs or carried over gorges o viaducts, affording splendid views.

Minori, once the arsenal of Amalfi has a Roman villa (A.D. first century) with well-preserved wall paintings.

Maiori (15m/50ft; pop. 6,000), a popular resort at the mouth of the Tramonti valley. On the coast near the town are a sulfur spring and a number of stalactitic caves, including the Grotta Pandona, which resembles the Blue Grotto on Capri.

Cetara (15m/50ft) is a fishing village picturesquely situated in a deep ravine which was the first settlement established by the Saracens.

8km/5 miles: Salerno.