The Amalfi Coast, Italy

The moment I hit the madly winding Amalfi corniche – ‘the road of a thousand bends’ – and catch my first glimpse of the plunging cliffs and glittering sea, I feel a crazy thrill of excitement. I’m biased, I know, but the Amalfi – a stretch of coastline south of Naples, including the towns of Amalfi, Positano and Ravello – has to be the most ravishing place on earth.

It also has a reputation for great food. When I’m here, I eat more slowly, savouring the vivid taste of San Marzano tomatoes just off the vine or the enormous and intensely aromatic sfusato di Amalfi lemons.

I can’t help feeling proprietorial about the place. After all, I was born here, in a cliffside house in the village of Minori – the place I recommend as a base for your Amalfi adventure. It still feels like home to me even though it’s nearly 40 years since I left for the UK. Walking down the main street in Minori takes at least an hour because I bump into so many old friends.

Breakfast

The best views across the passeggiata (promenade) are from Pasticceria De Riso. Its tables spill out across the piazza and it’s perfect for coffee at any time of day. As a child, I’d help the owner, Alessandro, make lemon granita, grating and squeezing hundreds of lemons with my friend, his son Salvatore – now a well-known pasticciere in his own right. These days I start the morning with a sfogliatelle – a shell-shaped pastry oozing with lemon custard – and a proper Neopolitan coffee.

Gennaro inspects the day's catch

Lunch

Giardinello opened when I was eight – my family had a grocery shop next door, so I practically grew up there. Their pizzas, made with fresh fior di latte (mozzarella made from cow’s milk), baby tomatoes and fresh basil, are some of the best in the world.

It’s far more than a pizzeria, though, and each dish is made entirely from scratch, every day. I‘ve always been fascinated by ricci, a local traditional hand-made pasta shape that’s rolled using the spoke of an umbrella. It’s best with peperoncini (chillies), tomatoes and rocket. There’s a phenomenal wine cellar, and a lovely dish with radicchio and the local parapandalo shrimps.

For a lunch with panoramic views over Minori, the Agriturismo Villa Maria is a must. It sits high above the town among the lemon groves. They make their own charcuterie with culatello (cured ham), wild fennel salami and sausages, as well as cheese, olive oil, jams and fruit liqueurs – all of which you can buy to take home. Maria herself gives cookery lessons on request.

Lunch is a veritable feast: there are anchovies caught on the rocks below Minori and marinated in peperoncini and basil, scialatielli (a spaghetti-like pasta) with prawns and home-grown courgettes, and huge steaks barbecued over herbs.

A chilled glass of their home-made limoncello is an essential digestif.

The moment I hit the madly winding Amalfi corniche – ‘the road of a thousand bends’ – and catch my first glimpse of the plunging cliffs and glittering sea, I feel a crazy thrill of excitement. I’m biased, I know, but the Amalfi – a stretch of coastline south of Naples, including the towns of Amalfi, Positano and Ravello – has to be the most ravishing place on earth.

It also has a reputation for great food. When I’m here, I eat more slowly, savouring the vivid taste of San Marzano tomatoes just off the vine or the enormous and intensely aromatic sfusato di Amalfi lemons.

I can’t help feeling proprietorial about the place. After all, I was born here, in a cliffside house in the village of Minori – the place I recommend as a base for your Amalfi adventure. It still feels like home to me even though it’s nearly 40 years since I left for the UK. Walking down the main street in Minori takes at least an hour because I bump into so many old friends.

The dining room at Torre Normanna

I like to spend my last night back in Minori or its neighbour, Maiori, perhaps dining at the stunning Torre Normanna, which sits atop its own craggy promontory. It has a secluded bar with loungers for swimming off the rocks, and the circular restaurant has uninterrupted views of the bay. Torre Normanna serves the best of the local specialities, such as ndundari – a lighter version of gnocchi, made with ricotta rather than potato and served with fresh tomato and basil sauce – wild sea bass with lemon, and wild strawberries with fresh ricotta to finish. Simple and delicious, it’s la bella cucina at its most enjoyable.