DESTINATIONS ITALY | SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL aHeartsnd crafts s
A passion for artisanal skills shapes a slower pace of life on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, discovers Joseph Phelan
tanding 11 metres beneath Positano’s Church of Santa Maria Assunta, I’m face to face with vivid frescoes in colours so bright they might have
been completed yesterday. Buried in AD79 by the same Vesuvian eruption that engulfed Pompeii, this Roman villa lay undiscovered until 2003 – and is one of Italy’s most significant recent archaeological finds. It’s a powerful, intimate reminder that the Amalfi Coast has long been home to people who make things designed to last. That legacy is woven into the fabric of daily life across this Unesco-listed coastline. Beyond the busy sunloungers and clifftop vistas lies another Amalfi Coast, one where workshops use centuries-old techniques to sculpt everyday objects into works of art, and which travellers can see for themselves if they skip the summer peak and go slowly enough to appreciate their surroundings.
PAPER CROWN A 30-minute walk inland from Amalfi’s bustling harbourfront, winding first through colourful souvenir shops then terraced lemon groves, brings you to the Valle dei Mulini (Valley of the Mills). As the path climbs away from the water, the tourist crowds begin to thin. The valley is a world apart from the coastal hubbub: framed by high limestone walls that act as a natural sound buffer, it’s noticeably quieter. Here, I meet Giuseppe Amendola Amatruda in his
family’s 15th-century paper mill. His grandmother, Rosa, taught him the craft as a child, continuing a tradition that family legend suggests may stretch back to the 13th century. “This area is the birthplace of Italian papermaking,”
says Giuseppe. “The slower pace of life, the emphasis on quality and the appreciation for natural beauty all encourage patience and precision.”
As Giuseppe’s hands work cotton rags into pulp, he
tells me: “The process is meditative and deeply satisfying. It connects me to the artisans who performed these same steps centuries ago.” The resulting paper, with its distinctive irregular edge and subtle imperfections, feels almost alive in my hands: textured, individual and undulating just like the cliffs that form the backdrop of the mill.
PLAIN SAILING
On the blue Bay of Naples lies Sorrento. Here, the Fratelli Aprea shipyard represents seven generations of traditional boatbuilding. “We’ve always been drawn to the authenticity and soul found in traditional craftsmanship,”
The coast’s beauty, architecture
and folklore are constant sources of creativity – local traditions are at the heart of everything we do
says Giuseppe Acampora, the company’s sales manager, as he gestures to the distinctive mahogany gozzo dinghies on the production line. Watching a gozzo take shape – the shuffling of
sandpaper across wood, precise joining of planks and hand- finishing that gives each vessel its character – transforms every subsequent boat sighting into something more poetic, understanding the hours of skilled labour and generations of accumulated knowledge that have gone into it. “Local traditions are at the heart of everything we do, from the techniques we use to the woods and colours ²
travelweekly.co.uk
23 APRIL 2026
35
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