Cetara

Cetara is a cozy fishermen's village nested along the Amalfi Coast among verdant citrus groves. The road that leads along the coast from Vietri sul Mare continues the length of the shoreline, overlooked by rugged hills and rocky seashore, past the fascinating villages of Raito and Albori, before continuing on almost straight to reach the ancient charming basin of Cetara. Cetara's name is derived from the Latin, Cetaria (meaning tuna-fishing nets), indicating its importance through the ages as a fishing settlement. The picturesque white architecture, along with the marvelous secluded beach make Cetara one of the jewels of the Amalfi Coast. Among the small sugar-cube houses I found the church of St Peter with a noteworthy glazed dome and the thirteenth-century bell tower with double lancet windows. Among the most valuable monuments of art and history, not to miss: - the Viceroy Tower, which dominates the East side of the beach of Cetara, built by the Anjou and later strengthened by the Aragonese to defend the population against the continuous attacks of the pirates. It was part of the large defensive fortification system along the coast and was equipped with cannons and "petrieri", guns that could shoot at short distance, in case of ground attacks; - the Church entitled to St. Peter the Apostle, built in the IX century during the expulsion of the Saracens by the Normans of Salerno. Extensively remodeled in later centuries, now it features a Baroque look with a medieval bell tower (XII century) that proposes a square plan on the first three orders and an octagonal shape on the other higher ones. Inside it houses an antique organ and a bilingual inscription (in Latin and Arabic) which commemorates Grandenetto d'Ausilio, the hero of Cetara, that actively participated in the liberation of Prince Frederick of Aragon, who was captured by the barons of Salerno in 1484; - the Church and Convent of San Francesco, built in the XIV century. The Church features a single nave and preserves inside frescoes and paintings of great value, such as the "Deposition" by Marco Benincasa, and one that features Suor Orsola Benincasa, a nun of local origins who founded the Congregation of the Teatine Sisters of the Immaculate Conception; - the Church of Our Lady of Constantinople, dating from the XIX century and partially rebuilt in 1921, after the disastrous flood of 1910. The graceful bell tower is of a later period.

Quiet splendid and then the anchovies ..

A small jewel of the Amalfi Coast from which interesting hiking trails start. Capital of the anchovies and their colatura, a modern variant of the Roman "gaurum". Restaurants to try. Small and equipped beach.

Beautiful country home of the dripping of anchovies

Cetara, the fishing village. A wonderful Borgo Simple and suggestive. You have to go through it at least once to understand and see its beauty. The only problem is finding a parking space.