The Amalfi coast road is the reason many riders first dreamed of Italy, and it lives up to the legend and then some, with a few catches. The SS163 Amalfitana, carved into the cliffs above the sea in the nineteenth century, winds along the southern side of the Sorrento peninsula from Positano to Vietri sul Mare, with hundreds of bends, sheer drops, tunnels, bridges and villages clinging to the rocks. Amalfi itself, a small town of about five thousand people at the mouth of a ravine, was once a powerful maritime republic that rivalled Venice and Genoa in the Middle Ages, and its cathedral, with its striped facade and Arab-Norman cloister, is a reminder of that glory.
The coast was listed by UNESCO in 1997 for its landscape of terraced lemon groves, vineyards and villages, shaped by centuries of human work on impossibly steep slopes. Atrani, just next door, is one of the smallest towns in Italy, a tangle of alleys and stairways. Ravello, high above, has the gardens of Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone, with views that inspired Wagner and countless writers.
Now the honest part. The road is narrow, and in summer it is clogged with tour buses, cars and scooters, so traffic jams can last for hours, and the buses often need the whole road to get around the bends. Local authorities have at times restricted traffic in summer, so check current rules before you go. The best times to ride are early morning, or in spring and autumn, when the road is quieter and the light is soft. Parking in Amalfi and Positano is scarce and expensive, but motorcycles have an advantage over cars.
Maiori, about four kilometres away, is the nearest town over five thousand people, with fuel and more space, and the roads inland over the mountains from Amalfi to Agerola or from Maiori over the Valico di Chiunzi offer spectacular views and less traffic. Food is a highlight: fresh seafood, pasta with lemons, and of course limoncello, the lemon liqueur made from the local sfusato lemons. Treat yourself to a swim from a rocky beach after the ride.