Walking guide to Amalfi Coast, Capri, Ischia - Italy, Europe

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Reviews
• Further Reading

So many creative spirits found inspiration here that preparation – or follow-up – for a trip to this area ranges over books, films, painting and music. Suggestions include Siren Land by Norman Douglas (1911), an enchanting if 'purple prose' account of the region at the turn of the 19th century.

The Story of San Michele (1929) by Axel Munthe, though largely autobiographical, gives an idea of life on Capri during the restoration of his famous villa at Anacapri.

Dutch engraver MC Escher spent prolonged periods in southern Italy working on his stunningly original lithographs.

Richard Wagner found inspiration at Ravello for Parsifal, as did Edvard Grieg for Peer Gynt, while DH Lawrence wrote much of Lady Chatterley’s Lover there. The recent French film Villa Amalia starring Isabelle Huppert was filmed on Ischia.

Helpful identification guides are Flowers of the Mediterranean by Oleg Polunin and Anthony Huxley (Chatto & Windus) or Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean by Marjorie Blamey and Christopher Grey-Wilson (A&C Black).