Places :: Conca dei Marini
A picturesque and charming fishing village, the history of Conca dei Marini, like
all the other towns of the Amalfi Coast, is closely related to the events of the
ancient Maritime Republic of Amalfi: the chronicles of the time, in fact, narrate
that the inhabitants of Conca dei Marini were skilled sailors and experienced traders,
which owned 27 large galleons. Its typical houses in Mediterranean style feature
vaulted ceilings and whitewashed walls, balconies with beautiful flowers and a spectacular
view over the sea. The terraces cultivated with lemons and tomatoes of the piennolo,
the tranquility and the fresh sea breeze made Conca Marini the ideal "buen retiro"
for lovers of discretion and quietness. It was, in fact, a preferred resort of important
writers, artists and chiefs of state, such as: Princess Margaret of England, Gianni
Agnelli, Jacqueline Kennedy, the Queen of Holland, Carlo Ponti and Moet & Chandon.
Among the most valuable monuments of art and history, not to miss:
- the Monastery of St. Rosa from Lima, with its adjacent church of Santa Maria di
Grado. A former Dominican monastery, built in the VXII century on a rocky promontory
overlooking the entire Gulf of Salerno, it features an austere exterior, whilst
the interior is richly decorated. Here, according to tradition, the exquisite sfogliatella
Santa Rosa was realized for the first time, a typical puff pastry filled with cream
and pieces of fruit. The church preserves part of the skull of St. Barnabas the
Apostle, one of the most important relics of the Amalfi Coast.
- the Church of San Pancrazio, surrounded by a beautiful olive grove (where the
poet Alfonso Gatto, used to wander around in search of inspiration), enjoys an incomparable
view on the Faraglioni of Capri and Positano. It was mentioned for the first time
in an official document of 1370 of the Archbishop of Amalfi, Monsignor Marino, and
was harshly sacked in 1543 and remained closed for a long time.
- the Church of San Michele Arcangelo, immersed in an evergreen Mediterranean vegetation,
was mentioned for the first time in a document dated 1208;
- the Church of St. John the Baptist and St. Anthony from Padua, of uncertain origins,
is situated on a rocky cliff. The discovery of some urns leads the historians to
hypothesize that the building stands on the ruins of an ancient pagan temple;
- the Chapel of Our Lady of the Snow, perched on the rocks near the beach of Marina
di Conca, is the protector of the sailors. The local traditions narrate that the
high-relief depicting the Madonna was found by sailors of Conca dei Marini on the
beach of Constantinople after the sack by the Ottomans;
- the Emerald Grotto, a karst cave discovered in 1932, which takes its name from the
emerald colors in the water, produced by the sunlight filtered through a submarine
entrance;
- the fortified Tower of Capo di Conca, also known as the Saracen Tower or White
Tower, an ancient XVI century watchtower located on a picturesque promontory over
the sea and surrounded by a thick Mediterranean vegetation. It was part of the defensive
tower system built along the coast of the entire Amalfi Coast, to defend the population
from pirate raids. However, after the defeat of the Turks at Lepanto, the tower
lost its original purpose and was used until 1949 as a cemetery (for some it has
been compared to the "towers of silence" in India).
- Marina di Conca, a charming small creek surrounded by a group of houses facing
the sea. It is not only a small natural harbor where the fishing boats dock, but
also the centre, where in the past, the active life of the town was concentrated.
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