Positano remained a largely unknown fishing village until the first half of the twentieth century, when it began to attract large numbers of tourists, especially after John Steinbeck published his essay about Positano in Harper’s Bazaar in May, 1953: “Positano bites deep”, Steinbeck wrote. “It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.” Today it is a favourite of tourists from all over the world, with its colourful houses, the majolica tiled dome of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, azure sea and overall southern Italian charm featuring in vacation snaps of the movers and shakers from Hollywood, fashion and music. The fishing village has also featured as the setting of many films, and musically speaking it boasts the role of muse for one of The Rolling Stones hits, as the song “Midnight Rambler” was written in the cafes of Positano by Richards and Jagger while on vacation there.
