156 Route 10. LITTLE S. ANGELO.
farther through the wood (not to be missed). After 3/i hr. by
the first house to the 1.; ^2 ^r- a church; at the next cross-
way to the r. The path continues descending to the r.; after
Y2 hr. in the valley to the 1.; 5 min. farther the high-road is
reached, and (Y2 !""•) Sorrento (p. 139).
From Amalfi round the Punta della Campanella to Capri,
p. 141; to Sorrento, p. 139; for the entire passage 6 hrs. are
required; with 4—6 rowers 30—35 1.
From Amalfi to Castellamare by the Little S. Angelo (7 his.;
donkey not recommended on account of the roughness of the path; a
fatiguing walk which hardly repays the trouble, as the view from the
summit is partially impeded; inquiry, moreover, should be made before
starting as to the safety of the route; in June, 1865, it was thought neces¬
sary to give the editor an escort of 3 carabineers, 5 1. each. In 1867 the
district was known to be infested by brigands). The finest portion of the
route is as far as (l'fe hr.) Fort S. Lazaro (see below), a point which may
itself form the object of an excursion from Amalfi (as, however, the path
is enclosed between walls, with the exception of the last 1/2 hr., a donkey
should be taken thus far, enabling the traveller to see beyond the walls; a
supply of provisions also desirable). — The path leads by Pastina and Vetlica
Minore in the Val Vettica, a picturesque ravine. Farther off, to the I., at
the base of the mountain slope, is situated Conca, consisting of a few
scattered houses, where the long Punta di Conca extends into the sea. Then
by a steep and unshaded path in '|2 hr. to S. Lazaro, a fort with a small
garrison; the terrace beneath commands a strikingly beautiful prospect of
the luxuriant coast as far as Positano (p. 155), to the N. Monte S. Angelo
(p. 138). From the fort the path is shaded by walnut and cherry-trees as
far as Agerola (in one of the last houses to the r. wine of an inferior
quality may be obtained). Thence >|2 hr. to the culminating point, 5. Angelo
a Guida, partly through wood. On the summit a wild district, to the 1.
the ridge of La Parata, to the r. the slight eminence Piano di Perillo, over¬
grown with brushwood. The only fine view is towards the N. of the Bay
of Naples; to the S. the sea alone is visible. From the summit to (3 hrs.)
Gragnano an arduous descent by stony and precipitous paths. From Gragnano
to (3|4 hr.) Castellamare and the ('(4 hr.) Hotel et Pension Anglaise (p. 137)
a dusty high-road.
11. From Ancona to Brindisi and the Apulian
Peninsula.
The E. districts of Italy, to the S. of Ancona, have, until very recently,
been entirely beyond the reach of the ordinary traveller. Moreover the W.
coast is by far the richer and more picturesque, as well as more replete with
historical interest. The E. districts can boast of no such names as those
of Rome, Naples, Florence etc., but they are not devoid of attraction and
have been endowed by nature with a considerable share of the gifts she
has so bounteously lavished on other parts of Italy. The Apennines rising
at a short distance from the coast send forth a series of parallel ramifications,
forming an equal number of parallel valleys, whose communication with
the external world is maintained by means of the coast to which they
descend. The shores are flat and monotonous and destitute of good har¬
bours. The estuaries of the small rivers afford but scanty protection to the
vessels of the coasting trade. Even at Ancona the prominent M. Conero
alone renders the anchorage tolerable. The villages and towns, in which
local peculiarities often prevail in a marked degree, are generally situated
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