Italy COAST TO COAST

From the terraces of Cinque Terre to the azure waters of Puglia, the Italian coast encapsulates the very best of the country: rich culinary traditions, dramatic landscapes fragrant with lemons and ancient sites that bear witness to millennia of history. Whether you embark on a beachside getaway or head out on a thrilling road trip, there's a lifetime of experiences to be had on Italy's glittering shores

- JULIA BUCKLEY

Amalfi

COAST OF MIRACLES

Travellers the world over flock to the Amalfi Coast for glittering sea views and rainbow-coloured villages spilling down hillsides. But the real treasures of this well-trodden corner of the country only reveal themselves if you dig a little deeper — in some cases, literally

It's a summer Saturday on the Amalfi Coast, and it feels like everyone has come to Positano. Only one street leads up from the harbour through the village, and it's packed - a long snake of people winding their way up, the swell of the crowd moving as one. Initially, it's hardly appealing, to be honest the reality of overtourism dampening the beauty that brought us all to Positano's colourful cliffside houses. But there's a different side to the Amalfi Coast, as I'm discovering: a place of thriving culture, history and dolce vita beyond the Instagram shots. It's just that, as in any place grappling with its honeypot status, you have to dig a little deeper to find it.

Literally, in the case of Positano. I'm in the crypt of the church of Santa Maria Assunta, part of the Roman Archaeological Museum of Positano (MAR). But this is Italy, where history is layered like a lasagne, so as well as Roman finds, there's this medieval crypt, plus a 17thcentury cemetery. Opposite the church - where tourists in shorts and T-shirts are piling in to watch an American couple get married - Paola, the MAR's guide, leads me down an underground staircase as we spin back the centuries with every step.