Lemon Country

Lemon Country A six photo story

Above: Looking up into Positano from the beach boardwalk

Story and photographs by Brenda J Pederson

October 2016

Both Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast are known for lemons. Positano has more lemon-flavored, lemon-scented, lemon-decorated, and lemon-embellished items than you can count! Strolling around town I was often either pleasantly surrounded with lemon fragrance or positively overwhelmed by it. But, they have reason to be proud. The lemons are amazing. Sfusato d'Amalfi is a giant, lumpy, ugly, nearly toy-football-sized lemon. It is sweeter and juicier than the lemons we’re used to.

Lemon slush was the first thing I ate when I arrived in Positano and the last thing I had as I was leaving. Best brain-freeze ever!

Inside one of the shops selling all things lemon.

When planning my excursion to Positano I hesitated a bit. I’m tourist adverse, preferring roads less taken, always searching for a more authentic experience. Sometimes this aversion works to my disadvantage, as touristy places are often touristy because of the beauty or history or some trait that draws people to the area.

I have not been able to verify this, but the story I heard was that these pines were first planted when the Romans wanted to provide protection for pilgrims making the long walk to Rome. The trees were planted along the major paths to provide shade from the heat and some protection from rain. This traditional pruned shape covered the roads without impeding those making the journey. They go by many names, Mediterranean Pines, Stone Pines, Italian Stone Pines, Umbrella Pines...... This is the tree that yields pinenuts.

The Amalfi Coast is a tourist haven and Positano is at the top of the list for many. But I’d seen the beauty of the place and was smitten. Positano seemed to be a good jumping off place for the other cities along the coast, like Amalfi and Ravello, and would also be the easiest place to depart for my return trip to Rome. So I booked a few days in the town.

Words are not adequate to describe the place. The beauty is astounding. It filled me.

Morning sun touches the inner part of the city.

Yes, there were tourists and I imagine during high season it’s crazy. But the gregariousness of the people; eating fresher-than-fresh seafood at the boardwalk restaurants while watching the seaside painters working – either on their paintings or on the tourists who stopped to buy a memory; climbing up and up and up through the vertical neighborhoods just after dawn; buying the most delicious, fragrant tangerines at a tiny market and delighting the proprietor with exact change - not expected from a tourist; strolling along the upper road soaking in the saturated blues of the Tyrrhenian Sea -- are all things I would not give up. And, the flowers! And the lemons! I want more.

One of the things I love about Italy and Italians, is that every spare scrap of land is filled with trees and flowers. And, if no scrap of land exists, they create their own with rows of planters and pots.

There was no need to leave Positano to visit the other towns, although someday I will. I’ll walk along, Il Sentiero degli Dei, The Path of the Gods, a four-plus mile hike along the ridge of the cliff between the towns. I want to motorbike along that curvy, narrow road that links the towns, too. The views and photo opportunities along both routes must be incredible.

Several of these artists were out every day, painting prolifically and ready to share stacks of paintings with anyone who stopped to look. I imagine during high season they stand shoulder to shoulder along the shore.

There’s too much beauty here to visit just once.

A man and boy fishing at sunset

Travel Tip: If it makes sense for your itinerary, arrive by sea. Traveling along the coast and coming into port offers views you won’t see from shore. When I returned to Naples to catch my train back to Rome, I hired a car, which I highly recommend. It was the big splurge for my trip but the convenience and the ability to enjoy the views along the highway on the way out, were well worth the cost – and it would be more affordable for those not traveling solo.

The view of Positano when arriving by sea on a warm but rainy day

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