Faro di Capo d'Orso
Maiori (SA)
Hidden gemViews & panoramas
The story
Suspended over the Costiera between Maiori and Cetara, the lighthouse guards a rocky cape where the road climbs and the gaze runs to the mountains plunging into the sea.
Hours and prices
Free entry.
More gems in Maiori
◆ Sacred artAbbazia rupestre di Santa Maria de Olearia
Maiori
Carved into the rock along the road to Salerno, an abbey of three chapels stacked one above the other; fragments of Byzantine frescoes hold on where oil was once pressed.
- ◆ Sacred art
Santa Maria de' Olearia
Maiori (SA)
Carved into the rock along the coast of Maiori, the little cave abbey holds eleventh-century frescoes in the grotto where oil was once pressed: half-light, silence and Byzantium.
◆ Free beachesBaia di Erchie
Maiori (SA)
A handful of fishermen's houses and a snug beach cradled between the headlands, with a torre saracena (Saracen watchtower) at one end: one of the most secluded coves of the Costiera.
- ◆ Sacred art
Capo d'Orso
Maiori
A headland whose rocky profile makes it look like a bear; on the mountains behind it climbs the pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the Avvocata.
- ◆ Free beaches
Baia di Erchie e spiaggia del Cauco
Maiori
A fishing village hidden between Cetara and Maiori, its narrow beach held between Saracen towers; the little cove of Cauco is reached only by swimming or by boat.
- Hiking
Sentiero dei Limoni
Maiori (SA)
An ancient route of steps and mule tracks links Maiori to Minori through the lemon terraces, the coast opening at every bend onto the sea.
More gems: Views & panoramas
Views & panoramasBelvedere di San Martino
Vomero
From the forecourt of the Certosa the gaze drops sheer onto Naples: the rooftops of the old centre, the bay, Vesuvius and the islands far off — all in a single frame.
Views & panoramasFontana del Gigante
via Partenope
A seventeenth-century fountain by Pietro Bernini and Naccherino, moved again and again before settling on the seafront: marble and tritons facing the water, in the shadow of Castel dell'Ovo.
Views & panoramasGran Caffè Gambrinus
P.za Trieste e Trento
Mirrors, stucco and Belle Époque velvet: at the counter you order an espresso and, by old Neapolitan custom, you leave a second one paid for whoever comes next.
◆ Views & panoramasPalazzo Mannajuolo (scala ellittica)
via Filangieri
The elliptical staircase climbs in a perfect spiral of steps and Liberty-style railings: lean over from the top and the eye falls into a vortex of stone.
◆ Views & panoramasRampe di Pizzofalcone
Monte di Dio
The ramps drop in hairpins from Monte di Dio, between old walls and sudden glimpses of the sea: a slow shortcut worth taking for the view alone.
- Views & panoramas
Lungomare
via Partenope
A seafront walk from via Partenope: Vesuvius straight ahead, Castel dell'Ovo out on the water, and all of Naples strolling slowly through the evening between a gelato and the horizon.