Why go
The Grotta dello Smeraldo draws many visits, but Conca’s history is visible elsewhere. Capo Conca Tower recalls the need to watch the coast, and the former port and tuna fishery explain why the cove mattered to people living on the slopes above it.
The full story
Conca dei Marini stands between Amalfi and Furore, with its houses and churches set above a small coastal landing. In the Middle Ages it served as a trading base of the Republic of Amalfi. The cove remained useful for maritime activity much later; a tuna fishery operated here until the middle of the twentieth century. That long use of the shore gives the hillside landmarks a clearer purpose. Capo Conca Tower, built in the sixteenth century, belongs to the era of coastal watchtowers and raids. The settlement was sacked by Turkish pirates in 1543. Higher up, the churches of San Giovanni Battista, Santa Maria di Grado and San Pancrazio mark a different side of local life. The Grotta dello Smeraldo is the best-known natural sight, but the cove, tower and churches together explain Conca as a working coastal community rather than a single cave stop.