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A
testament to a glorious past, the meeting of races and culture, along
the entire coast: old castle walls, villas, churches and
sanctuaries...we appeal not to the expert but to the curious who delight
in cultural discoveries, who want to know more about the places they
visit... |
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Thirteen groups of houses, thirteen bell-towers along the road . Green, like the slopes of chestnut groves and the vineyards it passes through.... That give good wine ...DOC "red , amiable but strong and perfumed "... (Cyril Ray)... The Hamlets of Tramonti were once all joined by a single road that ran through the whole valley in a semi-circle , and a series of lanes and steps making it easy to pass from one place to another... We will visit Tramonti climbing the right side for practical motives, taking via Nuova Provinciale until the Valico of Chiunzi ( this road finishes in the Agro-Nocerino - Sarnese), then down the opposite side through the internal roads that unite the hamlets on the eastern side of the river Satrono, taking when ever possible the ancient and pleasant tracks...
We will discover the green heart of the Amalfi Coast: a deviation after a few minutes on the outside of the main road takes us to the locality "Ferriera ". In past times we would have
A few hundred metres and another deviation, towards the inside lane this time to Pucara... The ancient "Pichiara", Probably the oldest settlement of Tramonti, in the enchanting rural scene the sixteenth century complex of the Regio Conservatorio dei SS.Giuseppe & Teresa - where the pious nuns invented the "Concierto" the exclusive liqueur of Tramonti, and after passing over a short viaduct joined to the mountain , the pretty Church of Sant'Erasmo, fourteenth century , with one nave , of particular interest the Portal in stone , and the magnificent altar piece portraying "St.Maddalena tra SS. Antonio e Leonardo " and a "Vergine Addolorata col Cristo Morto".... Keeping on the viaduct we would come to Novella, and then Gete and Pendolo, but we take the main road uphill for several hundred metres where a branch takes us to Novella... A picturesque baroque hamlet, famous for the production of milk products , particularly delicious ricotta cheese; at the centre of the square the simple little Church of S. Bartolomeo... Back on the road keeping straight we take the direction for Gete... After the long viaduct lined with houses , appears the seventeenth century Church of S. Michele Arcangelo, which holds the admirable Statue of the Archangel warrior , transferred from the Grotto dell'Angelo, a splendid rocky installation of the XII - XIII century...
We go back along the viaduct and not far from the beginning is the hamlet Pendolo (pendulum) hanging like its namesake from the green slopes of the mountain of Tramonti.... In ancient times rich in Churches and important buildings, the only one now left is the Parish Church of S. Maria della Neve, Romanesque with a curious structure of two equal naves... Immersed in the green valley behind is Corsano...
A few minutes and finally we reach the Valico di Chiunzi , the high Tower of Chiunzi one of the last
bastions left intact of the Amalfitan defence system. The construction was begun in the XI century The winding path that we are about to take, in the florid chestnut groves of Tramonti, is a passage back in history , here stood the Fortress of the Pass, scene of bloody battles, and completely destroyed in the XIV century, here stood the thick forest whose timber made the fortunes of the Amalfitans: The profitable commerce with the East began with the exchange of timber for building,...
The enterprising Moors who had very little timber requested and consumed large quantities, We reach the cross-roads that are the boundary with the chestnut groves of Ravello, and we aim for Cesarano and in descent for Pietre, named after the stone extracted there.... Once a florid centre , her Churches were burnt down during the disorders of 1420 , only S.Felice alla Tenda remains... Further ahead Figline , the smallest hamlet only a handful of houses around the bell-tower: S.Pietro Apostolo, Baroque with stucco by Vaccari, in the Church we note : the beautiful seventeenth century pavement, in majolica of Capodimonte, and a excellent marble bas-relief of the XII century...
In via Comunale , on the left side of Polvica, Paterno above S.Arcangelo and Paterno below S.Elia, at the centre of the valley... In the locality "Pumice " dominating the higher side the beautiful Church dell'Ascensiione, IX-X centuries, after recent restoration it will soon be opened to the public...
Below, nearly at the river, is the Church of Sant'Elia De
Satrono, with three naves, it has an important portal in black tufa from Sorrento : The inside is very simple , a baptismal font in white marble, decorated with the moon and the mountain , coat of arms of
Tramonti...
LIST
OF MONUMENTS AND SITES OF SCENIC AND CULTURAL INTEREST
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heard the hammers and anvils that announce the patient hard work of the makers of "Centrelle " (nails ) large with flat points for the shoes of lumberjacks. Today only the name remains and a few ruins , but the magnificent
Paper factory still functions, one of the last
unfortunately...
