Conca dei Marini è un borgo della Costiera Amalfitana, spartiacque tra Amalfi e Furore. Con meno di 700 abitanti, si colloca al quarto posto nella classifica dei comuni più piccoli d’Italia per estensione. Assieme all’intera Costiera Amalfitana, questo comune è stato dichiarato UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the 1997.

What to see besides the beaches

Mainly the coast is undoubtedly a destination for tourists for the sea and its beaches. Conca dei Marini is no less, but in addition to its beaches, inlets and natural caves, the small village is rich in cultural attractions, breathtaking landscapes and not least the spectacular religious architecture spread over its territory.

One above all we remember the San Giovanni Battista Church, nota anche come Chiesa di Sant’Antonio da Padova, patrono del paese. Restaurata a seguito del terremoto del 1980 in Irpinia, fu edificata su una rupe, nel rione di Penne. Essa è caratterizzata da un bellissimo campanile con la volta a cuspide e da una facciata barocca. Altrettanto caratteristici sono il Monumental complex of the Church of Santa Maria di Grado and the contiguous Conservatory of Santa Rosa da Lima, this last one was a former monastery of Dominican nuns, now a renowned ultra-luxury hotel, are among the most visited cultural destinations by tourists visiting Conca dei Marini.

Further downstream, there is another cliff that directly overlooks the panoramic coastal road, stands the Church of San Pancrazio Martire, di cui non si ha una datazione precisa. Alcuni documenti ritenuti ufficiali ne fanno menzione datando la sua edificazione intorno al 1370. Situata in una posizione panoramica, la chiesa ha un ampio cortile con due file di palme parallele, con tre porte di ingresso sulle quali sono presenti tre bellissimi mosaici di scuola ravennate, che raffigurano San Pancrazio a destra, Sant’Antonio di Padova a sinistra e al centro la Madonna del Carmine.

Of some importance is also the Church of San Michele Arcangelo, also in the suburban locality of Penne, which already existed before 1208. Enlarged over the centuries, this structure has gone through several years of neglect, years in which it was the subject of continuous thefts that robbed it of all the sacred furnishings, as well as having been heavily hit by the 1980 earthquake. After a restoration, it is now reopened for worship.

Finally, we mention the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception located in the main square of the town, Piazza Olmo, built towards the end of the 1600s by the Pandolfi family, with a 'Spanish' style, and the Chapel of the ‘Madonna della Neve’, built on the beach of Marina di Conca (which we will talk about shortly) to protect sailors, in a suggestive position set in the rock, of very small dimensions.

But the real highlight of Conca dei Marini is the beach named ‘Marina di Conca’, a small bay surrounded by numerous white houses, in addition to the small marina on which the fishing boats dock. It was precisely in this bay that the life of the town was once concentrated: for example, as early as the 1600s there was the custom to elect the mayor on this beach. This bay became famous between the 1960s and 1970s for having hosted many famous people, including Gianni Agnelli and Jacqueline Kennedy. According to Legambiente, it is one of the 11 best beaches in Italy.

Another of Conca's naturalistic attractions is the marvelous Emerald Grotto, discovered by a fisherman in 1932. It measures approximately 45 x 32 meters, for a maximum height of 24 meters, and owes its name to the shades that the water assumes when its light penetrates an underwater fissure, which connects it to the sea.

There are numerous stalactites and stalagmites, in some places even more than 10 meters high. Famous, in 1956, a suggestive underwater nativity scene set up here, and the cave is also known for being the location of some scenes of a television drama, Capri island.

The latest addition for thrill seekers, only because it was added a few years ago, is the descent by cable ‘Zip-Line’ than from the nearby village of Furore, flying across the spectacular Fjord of Furore lands in Conca dei Marini.

Conca dei Marini climate and weather

That of Conca dei Marini is a typically Mediterranean climate, with particularly hot summers (in August there are almost 27 degrees on average) and very mild winters, with temperatures that hardly reach 5 degrees. Annual rainfall slightly above the average, mainly concentrated in the winter period.