Atrani, 5 minutes stroll away from Amalfi, is a world apart. Amazingly, it has none of the trendy resort feel of Amalfi, relatively few tourists, a delightful town square, and a free, sandy beach. Atrani is an ancient settlement where the nobility of the Maritime Republic of Amalfi had their residences and where the doges were crowned and buried. Atrani stretches along the valley of the River Dragon, so named because legend has it that there a terrible dragon that spit fire used to hide there. Atrani is the smallest town in southern Italy for territorial extension. For the enchanting beauty of alleyways, arches, courtyards, the squares, displaying “stairways” of homes, placed one upon another, the suggestive atmosphere of the evening, when the lights are on, Atrani has frequently been used as a film set for movies and commercials becoming part of the most beautiful towns in Italy. Atrani is the only country to preserve intact its ancient character of the small village of fishermen.
Houses face directly on the beach, and then gather around the square with the church of San Salvatoreand the stone fountain, rising finally to the valley and climb along the rocky slopes of the hill, cross the gardens and crops lemons. The respect and attention to the simple original vocation are, therefore, of Atrani a rare example of a balanced development of tourism.