Campania · Salerno
Vietri sul Mare
The eastern end of the Amalfi Coast, the ceramics town since the fifteenth century, the gateway between Salerno and the cliff road.
Known for
CERAMICS
Polychrome pottery documented since the ninth century, industrially scaled in the 1920s and 1930s by German émigrés; Vietri is Città della Ceramica.
MAJOLICA DOME
The Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista green-and-yellow tiled dome, the town's signature image and the postcard of the Amalfi Coast's eastern gate.
ALBORI
Frazione above the centro, also a Borgo più bello d'Italia, with stone lanes and views across the Gulf of Salerno toward Cetara and Capo d'Orso.
When to visit
Best · May–Sep
- J13°
- F14°
- M15°
- A18°
- M22°
- J27°
- J31°
- A31°
- S27°
- O22°
- N18°
- D14°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 29° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Giovanni Battista, 24 June
Why come
Vietri sul Mare sits at the eastern end of the Costiera Amalfitana, the most populous commune of the UNESCO-listed coastline, separated from the port of Salerno by a single harbour wall. The polychrome ceramics tradition is documented from the ninth century, with a generally agreed start around the fifteenth, and the industrial scale-up came in the 1920s and 1930s when a small group of German émigré artists settled in the workshops and brought the bestiary-and-floral pottery the town still produces. The Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, sixteenth century, has a green-and-yellow majolica dome that has become the town's signature image.
Vietri is the only Amalfi Coast commune that holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and UNESCO together, and is a member of the Città della Ceramica network. The marina at Marina di Vietri and the cliffside frazione of Raito and Albori sit below and above the centro on the same slope.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Vietri sul Mare’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
How to get there
From Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 57 minutes by car.
Bari / Brindisi (BRI) is about 3h 17m away.
By car from the centre of Salerno 16 minutes, Naples 51 minutes or Rome 3 hours.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Naples?
Coming by train into Salerno? Vietri sul Mare is about 19 minutes away by road.
What to see
Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista
Sixteenth-century parish church with a green-and-yellow majolica dome and a bell tower of polychrome tiles, the most photographed image of the town.
Museo Provinciale della Ceramica
Ceramic museum in Villa Guariglia at Raito, with Vietri pieces from the seventeenth century through the German-period 1920s and after.
Albori
Cliffside frazione above the centro, also a Borgo più bello d'Italia, with stone houses, lanes, and views over the Gulf of Salerno.
Marina di Vietri
Pebble beach below the centro between the Crapolla and Salerno harbour walls, a working marina and one of the easier coast beaches to reach by train.
Botteghe della ceramica
Workshops along the Corso Umberto and the Via Cristoforo Costa, the active core of the Vietri ceramics industry since the early twentieth century.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Vietri sul Mare fits in a slow Italy circuit.
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We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Volta del Fuenti by Michele De BlasioRistorante
Volta del Fuenti by Michele De Blasio carries one Michelin star, plus two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100).
PascalòTrattoria
Pascalò has two Gambero Rosso prawns to its name.
Living here
- Population 7,180
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 57 min drive
- Regional capital Napoli, 51 min drive
Common questions
- What is Vietri sul Mare known for?
- Vietri sul Mare is the eastern end of the Amalfi Coast at 80 meters, the ceramics town since the fifteenth century, the gateway between Salerno and the cliff road.
- Where is Vietri sul Mare?
- Vietri sul Mare is a comune in the province of Salerno, in Campania.
- What is the nearest airport to Vietri sul Mare?
- Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 57 minutes by car.
- Can you get to Vietri sul Mare without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Salerno to Vietri sul Mare?
- About 16 minutes by car.
- When is the best time to visit Vietri sul Mare?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Vietri sul Mare?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: Giovanni Battista, 24 June.
- Which other towns are like Vietri sul Mare?
- Pizzo, Sperlonga and Tropea.
- How many people live in Vietri sul Mare?
- 7,180 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 80 m
- Population: 7,180
- Surface area: 9.52 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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