Top of the World
In contrast to the splendor of Positano, Praiano is discreet and silent, a quiet holiday resort with whitewashed houses and the green ridge of Monte Sant’Angelo in the background. It is high up, this sprawling village, so get ready to face hundreds and hundreds of stairs. For example, there are the 300 steps that descend from the church of San Gennaro to the beach of the Gavitelli, a very scenic passage. But it is also the starting point of the Path of the Gods, a name that evokes the spectacular view, but which is also linked to Greek mythology: the Gods of Olympus crossed the path to reach Ulysses and save him from the spell of the sirens that inhabited the Li Galli archipelago. Get your trekking gear and gather your strength and determination because you start immediately with a challenging staircase that leads from the center of the village to the beginning of the actual trail, a 12 km route that winds along the ridge of the mountains (the Lattari), crossing natural gorges and terraces that plunge into the valleys and offer extraordinary views. Then you have to move a couple of kilometers east of the center to find Marina di Praia, with a nice little port and a tiny creek with coarse sand and inviting waters. The car, again. Curve after curve, after 8 km you reach the entrance (with elevator or stairway) of the Grotta dello Smeraldo (otherwise you get there by boat, from Amalfi: on the seafront Lungomare dei Cavalieri, different operators carry out the service of boat trips or organize the excursion). Discovered in 1932 by a local fisherman, it conceals a world of stalactites and stalagmites and water with surprising nuances. There is, submerged, a Christmas nativity set of ceramics, a destination for scuba divers from all over Italy.
