AmalfiCoast Costiera Amalfitana

After captivating the public with historical photos of Amalfi, Atrani, Maiori, and Ravello, Cava Storie continues its journey through the visual memory of the Amalfi Coast with a new and precious chapter: Positano in 1962, seen through the lens of German traveler Walter Schröder.

The photographs, now preserved in the Marburg Photographic Archive—located in the central German city of Marburg, between Dortmund, Cologne, Bonn, and Frankfurt—offer an extraordinarily authentic glimpse of Positano over sixty years ago. Houses clinging to the cliffside, beaches still untouched by mass tourism, small fishing boats resting on the sand, and watchtowers standing guard over the sea.

A key detail allows us to date one of the photographs with precision: a movie poster along the staircase leading to the beach announces a screening of "How the West Was Won," the American film released in 1962. The poster is clearly visible next to one of the stone lion statues, which still adorn that section of the historic center near the Church of Santa Maria Assunta.

Schröder’s images are not just historical documents - they are works of art in their own right. The soft light illuminating faces and façades, the serenity radiating across the landscape, the quiet presence of people on the stone steps, the nearly empty beach, and the unmistakable silhouette of Li Galli island on the horizon all invite reflection on time and place.

An ancient well in the foreground, a flower-covered terrace overlooking the sea, Saracen towers perched along the coast—each photograph is an opportunity to compare "then" and "now" and reminds us of the importance of preserving the original soul of these lands, which are now global destinations but were once peaceful havens for fishermen, travelers, and artists.

Thanks to Cava Storie for bringing these historical gems back to light—images that continue to move and inspire, even today.

Source: Positano Notizie