Villa Colatura

Cetara is the last proper fishing village on the Amalfi Coast, and Villa Colatura is a proper fisherman’s house: narrow, tall and stacked up the hillside in steps. Four generations of the Apicella family fished from the harbour below, and Nonno Gennaro cured anchovies in a barrel in the cellar, which is where we get the name. Colatura di alici, the amber anchovy essence descended from Roman garum, is made in Cetara, and still tastes better here than anywhere else.

We restored the house in 2024 with the same builders who rebuilt the village church tower. Three floors, three bedrooms, a stone kitchen with a proper range and a terrace on the roof with a hot tub, a long table and a view over the harbour, the tower and the open sea. Walls are 70 centimetres thick, floors are original Vietri tile and the windows are shutters rather than glass, which is how you know it is real.

The harbour is a seven-minute walk down 98 steps, and a quarter of an hour back up with shopping, so we insist on warning anyone who dislikes stairs. In exchange you get the best sunrise on the coast, a lane so quiet you will hear the fishing boats set out, and locals who sell colatura, smoked tuna and cheeses from tiny shops that open when they feel like it.

The Pergola Studio next door is a separate self-contained one-bedroom for two, with its own entrance, ideal as an annexe or on its own. We will arrange fresh fish from the morning catch, a cook for the evening or a seat on a fisherman’s boat. Tell us what you like to eat and we will tell you which door to knock on.