From Atrani, just east of Amalfi, a winding road (SS 373) climbs through orange-groves to Ravello, an old town in a superb site overlooking the sea from the brink of the deep Valle del Dragone (Valley of Dragons).
The lush gardens, which once surrounded its villas are now parks, each one with a better viewpoint than the last.
You may wonder at the number of churches in such a small town, but like Amalfi, it was once much larger.
In its 13th-century heyday, it had a population of 36,000, with churches, monasteries, villas, and palaces.
In the 12th-century church of San Giovanni del Toro, remodeled in Baroque style, is a mosaic pulpit decorated with Persian majolica; in the crypt are frescoes of scenes from the life of Christ.
