Amalfi by Wooden Gozzo: Catching Wild Capers & Salted Anchovies

The engine of our 28-foot varnished mahogany gozzo purrs with an unhurried, rhythmic thrum. Departing Cetara before sunrise, the cliff faces of the Amalfi drive appear as indigo silhouettes against a rose-gold horizon. This tiny fishing hamlet is the ancestral cradle of colatura di alici—an amber-tinted elixir distilled from cured anchovies that dates directly back to Roman garum.

The Vertical Lemon Groves of Tramonti

Above the coastline, terraces of Sfusato Amalfitano lemons cling impossibly to 60-degree dolomite inclines. Supported by chestnut scaffolding, these fragrant orbs grow large as grapefruit, their thick piths sweet enough to slice and eat sprinkled with sea salt and fresh mint.

Coves Unreachable by Road

Steering away from the yacht-choked marina of Positano, we drop anchor inside the emerald-shadowed inlet of Fiordo di Furore. Here, fresh subterranean mountain springs mix with Mediterranean brine, creating swimming conditions of crystalline clarity.

• Best Season: Mid-May or late September, when the summer swell recedes and sea water remains warm.
• Culinary Stop: A tiny shore shack in Nerano for spaghetti alla Nerano (fried zucchini, provolone del Monaco).
• Vessel Choice: Traditional displacement wooden craft rather than modern composite speedboats.

By dusk, the cliff houses ignite in twinkling clusters of amber light. To approach this storied coast from the waterline is to understand how generations of mariners found sanctuary under the sheer heights of Mount Cerreto.