La CostieraAmalfitana.

Emperor Tiberius ruled the Roman Empire from Capri for the last 10 years of his life (26–37 AD) — never returning to Rome, governing by letter from this villa on the island's highest point. The Villa Jovis (Jupiter's Villa) is the largest of his twelve Capri villas — a complex of cisterns, servants' quarters, imperial apartments and a loggia on the cliff edge with a 360-degree view of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the mainland. The Salto di Tiberio (Tiberius's Jump) is the cliff below which he allegedly threw enemies. The walk up is steep, mostly deserted, and completely free of the boutique crowd. €6. Almost no one goes.

The Sentiero degli Dei (Path of the Gods) is a 7km footpath along the high ridge above Positano, with the Tyrrhenian Sea visible 400 metres below and the full arc of the Amalfi Coast spread out from Capri to Salerno. The path begins at Bomerano (bus from Amalfi) or at Nocelle above Positano and follows the ancient ridge route between the coastal villages at an elevation of 400–600m. The views are better than anything visible from the road below. No coaches can reach it; the path requires only moderate fitness and good shoes. The final descent to Nocelle (steps cut into the cliff) is steep and memorable.

Amalfi was the first place in Europe to produce handmade cotton-rag paper — introduced from Arab-controlled Sicily in the 13th century and manufactured in the mills of the Valle dei Mulini (Valley of the Mills) using the water power of the mountain streams. The Carta di Amalfi (Amalfi paper) was used for official documents throughout medieval Europe; the Tavola Amalfitana (the oldest maritime legal code in Europe, 11th century) was written on it. The paper museum occupies a surviving 13th-century mill in the narrow valley — the only medieval industrial complex remaining in Amalfi, preserved by its concealment from the sea road.

The Villa of the Mysteries (Villa dei Misteri) contains the largest and best-preserved fresco cycle from antiquity — a continuous narrative frieze around three walls of the triclinium, 29 life-size figures in a deep Pompeian red background, depicting the initiation rites of the Dionysiac mysteries. The figures have been studied continuously since 1929 and their precise narrative remains contested — the sequence of scenes, the identity of the figures, and the specific ritual being depicted are not fully resolved. The fresco quality (the skin tones, the fabric rendering, the spatial composition) is not equalled by any surviving Roman painting. Included in the site ticket; 15 minutes from the main entrance; rarely as crowded as the forum area.