In the back of the Sports section of today's NY Times , where it could easily be missed, a column that usually reviews automobiles this time devotes as much time to testing one on the Amalfi Drive, the spectacularly beautiful road that begins from Sorrento on the Bay of Naples and runs to Salerno. When I was studying in Rome I took this road three or four times, once with my family when they had come to Italy for my ordination. On that occasion we rented a little bus for the journey. I remember that the driver would blow his horn loud as we approached one of the twists in the road. At one point, workers were doing repairs on a bridge and advised us to get out and walk across it to reduce the weight of the bus! (Ive always wondered what the driver must have been thinking as he slowly ventured across!) It's such a beautiful area, and one of the best seafood meals I've ever had was a spaghetti alle vongolein the lovely little city of Amalfi. If you have time, this is a must for any trip to ItalyHere are a couple of paragraphs from the column. There's a photo at the Times site.

JOHN STEINBECK recounted in a 1953 article for Harpers Bazaar what it was like to travel with a hired Italian driver in a Fiat 500 on the Amalfi Coast road: "Flaming like a meteor we hit the coast, a road high, high above the blue sea that hooked and corkscrewed on the edge of nothing, a road carefully designed to be a little narrower than two cars side by side. And on this road, the buses, the trucks, the motor scooters and the assorted livestock."We didnt see much of the road. In the back seat my wife and I lay clutched in each others arms, weeping hysterically." ...The Costiera Amalfitana road begins just south of Naples, in the shadows of Mount Vesuvius, and continues for about 31 miles around the peninsulas tip, which faces the Isle of Capri. The road winds back through the cliff-dwelling cities of Positano, Praiano, Ravello and Amalfi to Salerno. Figure on at least five hours of driving time.Andr Gide, the French author, took several days to travel this road more than 100 years ago. He wrote that it was "so beautiful that I had no desire to see anything more beautiful in the world." Bravely, Gide rode it in a stagecoach.The road, carved into or suspended over the sides of cliffs, still features stagecoach-width lanes, limited guardrails and terrifying drop-offs thousands of feet straight down to the azure sea. Switchback corners, narrow tunnels, even narrower bridges over nothingness, and stomach-churning elevation changes dominate the stretch from Positano to Amalfi. Though smoothly paved since Steinbecks wild ride, it remains a stretch that would humble a Formula One champion.But the view, best admired from one of the few pullouts, is worth it all.Many writers, starting with Homer in "The Odyssey," have tried to capture the allure of this seductively beautiful area. To Homer, this was where the Sirens lived and of whom he wrote, "That man who unsuspecting approaches them, and listens to the Sirens singing, has no prospect of coming home."Historians said they thought Homer was alluding to the singular beauty of the mountains, the cliffs, the sea and the islands around here.

It is still difficult to want to return home after visiting, but only until ones euros run out. The euros tend to run out quickly, however, when buying Italian gasoline, one of the worlds most expensive automotive fuels at about $8 a gallon. The local wine is cheaper.