The many colors of the Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast is that stretch of Campania’s coast located south of the Sorrento peninsula, between Positano and Vietri sul Mare. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site both for its natural scenery and for its architectural monuments. The Amalfi Coast cannot be described with just one color of the photometric spectrum.

The many colors of this land are perfectly summarized in its food, both agricultural and marine, which fully reflect the elements of the Mediterranean diet. The Amalfi Coast is particularly known to represent such a diet at its best.

Thanks to its ideal climate, tempered by the beneficial influence of the sea, and through the work of its inhabitants, who shaped the profile of the mountains in order to adapt it to crops by terracing, the Amalfi Coast has grown on its territory many excellent and unique products in the world. Here are some examples of colorful foods coming from this geographic area.

The most important fruit of the Amalfi Coast is definitely the yellow lemon, called "sfusato" for its elongated shape. It has received the IGP in 2001, thus guaranteeing the consumer a high quality product. The sfusato has a very clear skin, an intense aroma and a taste so sweet that its slices can be eaten without adding sugar. It is particularly rich in vitamin C, a substance known for its disinfectant, astringent and stimulant properties, all very useful to the immune system. Vitamin C is also a great energizing element, ideal for consumption after physical exercise. The lemon of the Amalfi Coast is widely used in cooking to flavor pasta, rice and salad or to prepare cakes, ice creams and sorbets. It is also used to produce the famous limoncello.

Red tomatoes are also rich in vitamin C and vitamin A. The variety growing on the Amalfi Coast is called "Corbara’s" or "Corbarino." It is a tomato that comes from plants with indeterminate growth and "elongated pear shaped" berries. It has a strong, bittersweet taste.

The silvery fishes of the Amalfi Coast are a traditional source of protein in the Mediterranean diet. Cetara’s most typical foods are the anchovies, prepared in many different ways, the tuna in olive oil (Cetara has one of the Mediterranean’s best equipped fleets for tuna fishing) and the famous “colatura di alici”.

Finally, there is the grape of the Amalfi Coast, which is fragrant and sweet. It can be eaten alone or with figs, of which the coast is rich, or it can be used to produce regional DOC wines, such as Bianconcello and Tintore.

There are a lot of good reasons to go on vacation on the Amalfi Coast, but just thinking about the smell of its lemons, the white and pink color of its houses, the silver-gray of its fishes and the red of his tomatoes, is more than enough to make you want to immediately run there!

Article written thanks to the advice of Dr. Maria Angela Villani.