Finding Amore and Limoncello in Southern Italy

I was in the Italian village of my dreams, and yet I couldn’t sleep. Positano is undoubtedly the most breathtaking town in southern Italy’s Amalfi Coast, while nearby Sorrento, Capri and other sun-drenched villages perched along cliffs of the Amalfi Coast were as stunning as I’d hoped.

But this clueless traveler wasn’t prepared for the crowds. They spilled down the narrow streets threading through Positano to the beach. They thronged past the posh designer shops on the rocky island of Capri. They followed flag-waving guides through the shopping streets of Sorrento.

Lemons everywhere in Southern Italy

Even the souvenir shops drove me crazy. Southern Italy is famous for its lemons, so sweet and juicy you can eat them right off the tree. But the yellow orbs had long ago made the public-relations jump from trees to souvenirs, which means they adorn almost everything for sale. If I’d wanted an apron bursting with juicy-looking lemons or a lemon-shaped bowl, I was certainly in the right place.

But it was the guy in Sorrento, dressed head to toe in lemon-emblazoned shorts, socks and a shirt that sent me over the edge. That he was a tourist I had no doubt, because no self-respecting local would dress like that–unless, of course, he was a local mocking tourists. Or maybe, I pondered during my sleepless night, the guy was a tourist mocking lemon-themed clothing?

And that’s when I had my eureka moment. If life gives you lemons, make limoncello. No wonder southern Italy is the limoncello capital of the world.

Learning about limoncello leads to amore

And so I set about learning as much as I could about about Italy’s famous lemon liqueur, visiting limoncello factories, sampling local varieties, and even watching an expert make his own limoncello, based on a recipe passed down from his mother. I had a mission, and in the process I mostly forgot about the crowds.

I began to appreciate Positano’s beauty, its pastel-colored houses perched on steep hills reached by thousands of stairs. I looked forward to sunsets, to moonshine playing the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the rosy glow of dawn promising a new day.

It was amore, a love of place. Of course, sipping a limoncello or two didn’t hurt.

You can read my basic primer about limoncello, Limoncello 101: Where to try it and how to make your own, published in 10Best.com/USATODAY. As for love, here’s my article “The Amalfi Coast: Made for Romance…and Movies,” published on a website that has ceased publication, so I’m reprinting it here: