Vietri sul Mare, the capital of ceramics

Vietri sul Mare is the first pearl of the Amalfi Coast coming from Salerno: it is the easternmost territory and the most populated municipality of the Coast as well.
Historically it is identified with the ancient Marcina, an Etruscan-Samnite coastal settlement that later became a port the ancient Romans used to transport agricultural products and wine from the Nocerino-Sarnese countryside.
Its breathtaking views and ancient ceramic art, dating back to the 1600s and a symbol of this land, make this village a real jewel.
The historic center is a magical place, where the pottery plays a starring role while the two belvederes offer wonderful views.
The numerous shops that display artifacts of all kinds - dishes, ashtrays, amphorae, decorated tile panels, vases, statuettes, tea and coffee facilities, sacred objects and ornaments of all kinds - make the narrow streets that climb towards the ancient village, an open-air museum where the art of ceramics reaches levels of excellence.
Among the many ceramic objects, the donkeys are very famous. The Vietri donkeys, created by Richard Dolker, a German potter who, since the '20s, attracted by the tradition of ceramics, but also by the sun and the sea of Vietri, moved there, becoming the leader of an exodus of artists from Northern Europe, known as the "Germans of Vietri" who revolutionized the Vietri ceramic style.

Come and discover Vietri sul Mare in the most simple way, avoiding long queues in the car and problems with parking and timing. 

Tra.vel.Mar S.r.l.

What to see and what to do in Vietri sul Mare?

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Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista


The Cathedral dedicated to San Giovanni Battista, the patron saint of the town, dates from the 10th century and it is one of the symbols of Vietri sul Mare. It was destroyed by Saracens and renovated several times over the centuries. Today it has a sixteenth-century facade and a baroque interior. The most striking feature is its majolica dome, another symbol for Vietri sul Mare.
This dome, visible from several points of the town, together with its bell tower is covered with bright yellow, green, and blue majolica tiles, commonly used to decorate the domes of the Amalfi Coast.


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Arciconfraternita della Santissima Annunziata e del Santissimo Rosario


The building that houses it, dates from the seventeenth century. It is placed right next to the Cathedral: its facade is decorated with painted ceramics representing religious scenes, while its interior was frescoed in the eighteenth century.


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The Solimene ceramic factory


Seat of the Solimene artistic ceramics that has been operating in Vietri sul Mare for more than a century, it contains a vast collection of contemporary ceramics. Designed by the architect Paolo Soleri in the 1950s, it is considered one of the most significant Italian buildings of the 1900s.


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The Villa Comunale


Just a few steps away from the Solimene Factory, this is the perfect expression of Vietri ceramics and recalls the architectural shapes of the Parc Güell in Barcelona. The handrails and walls covered with colorful ceramic tiles make this place unique. Its amphitheater, especially during the spring and the summer, hosts cultural and artistic events.


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Villa Guariglia, the ceramic museum


Located in the village of Raito, in Villa Guariglia you will see displayed many handcrafted products, from the 17th century to the second half of the 20th century. 


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Marina di Vietri and the other beaches

 

In Marina di Vietri, there is a lovely beach, one of the most recent on the entire Amalfi Coast, formed indeed in 1954 following a flood that carried mud and debris downstream. Very close by, you will see a narrow street that stands out for its colors. It is famous on social media and it will offer you many instagrammable pictures.
Along the seafront, you will see two twins rocks, the famous Due fratelli, also known as Faraglioni di Vietri.
The beach of Baia, one of the few with a sandy bottom, and one of the longest and widest in the entire territory, with its 400 meters in length; the Crespella beach, called this way for its Crespella tower, a lookout tower dating back to the sixteenth century; the Marina di Albori, the beach of one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, exposed to the sun for longer than the others and reachable thanks to a staircase not far from the center.


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Raito, Albori and the other hamlets


Having become famous because of the television drama "Capri", that was "filmed" in the Villa Guariglia, called in the fiction Villa Isabella, Raito is world-famous for its characteristic "stairs", which are the only means one can use to move around the town. In fact, this hamlet only has 2 roads, one at the top and one at the bottom of the town, well connected with the Vietri bus lines.
The village of Albori, about 2 km from the center of Vietri, is characterized by alleys and houses painted with bright colors that allowed sailors to find their home after the many months spent at sea. It is part of the association "The most beautiful villages in Italy" and it is home to the Museum of Vietri Ceramics and to the Historical Documentation Center of the Salerno Medical School.
The other hamlets of Vietri are Benincasa, Molina and Dragonea. The latter houses the Church of Santi Pietro e Paolo Apostoli, a millenary parish, one of the oldest in the province of Salerno.

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