COASTAL LIFE

WITH A TOUCH OF OLD GLAMOUR.

POSITANO

ST-TROPEZ

TOSCANY

Draped along the cliffs on the southern side of the Sorrento Peninsula, between Salerno and the city of Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast is one of the most dramatic and glamorous spots in Italy.

Connecting the two cities are the winding switchbacks and sheer drops of Amalfi Drive, a road that clings as precariously to the cliff face as the the towns and fishing villages it joins, carving a way flanked by forested mountains and shimmering Tyrrhenian Sea. Along the way, Positano, Amalfi and Ravello’s candy coloured buildings spill their way down into blue bays.

The peninsular combines affluent sophistication with a honest simplicity, where super yachts and gurgling Italian sports cars next sit amidst an unchanging rural way of life, surrounded by terraced gardens growing olives, grapes and lemons. The food gloriously reflects this and some of Europe’s finest restaurants can be found here, thriving on fresh local produce, whilst the rustic Neapolitan food found everywhere here to many epitomizes Italian cuisine.

AMALFI COAST

a dream place that isn’t quite real.

TOSCANY

Rich heritage and a richer soul.

Few scenes are more evocative of Italy than that of rural Tuscany, undulating hills, dotted with stoic stone farm houses, dark green cypress trees and ranked vines, all under a shawl of a dawn’s mist.

Recognisable over shoulder of countless Renaissance Madonnas, Tuscany has long drawn enamoured visitors, each after culture, wine, fine food and tangible history. All are elements that abound across Italy, but here are uniquely distilled between the Apennine Mountains and the sea.

The whole region was built on Etruscan and Roman roots, and whilst in Florence the Renaissance reigns, out in the countryside the old towns perched on hill tops retain the honest rustico charm of the Medieval. Masterpieces from both ages can be found in unmatched concentrations in Tuscany, tucked away in churches, museums and galleries all over the region.

The food and wine here enjoys a similarly unpretentious integrity. Tuscans are enormously proud of their culinary traditions and their locally sourced, seasonal produce. Encompassing the Chianti region, Tuscany can also claim to produce some of the finest wines in Italy.

The iconic French Riviera, also known as the Côte d’Azur, is a beautiful section of France’s Mediterranean coastline stretching from the Italian border westward via the state of Monaco, Nice, Cannes and Saint-Tropez to the port of Toulon.

Where Parisians flock to summer and celebrities come to play, Saint-Tropez epitomises the region’s glamour dating back to the 1950s, when influential French stars like Brigitte Bardot and Coco Chanel began frequenting this charming coastal town, transforming it from a simple fishing village into a jet-setters’ paradise. Today, the peninsula of Saint-Tropez with its yacht-filled gulf is still very much the heart of the Riviera and it has retained its glittering allure.

Cannes is small city renowned for its film festival, but it keeps its glitzy charm for the rest of the year, few places more so than the Promenade de la Croisette which is flanked by a sun lounger strewn sand beach and luxury shops, hotels and restaurants.

Nice, the largest city and capital of the region, enjoys a similarly grand seaside setting, along with glorious architecture, a charming old town and great food, but with a little more edge. A scattering of rustic villages and towns can be found along the rest of the coast and inland.

Spend your days admiring the yachts in the harbours from pretty port-side terraced cafes, lounging on dazzling beaches and lunching at chic bars.