This spectacular coastline which embraces the charming resort towns of Positano, Amalfi and Ravello, where the narrow road laces its way around precipices defying gravity and which provides us with one of the most beautiful scenic drives in the world, invites us to imagine ourselves back in the sunny carefree days of the sixties - for here the beauty and romance of those times has not changed.

The people here have a strong affinity with their beloved coast and they have perfected the art of living: they are part of the elements surrounding them - and they salute their good fortune in a timelessness which is nurtured by infinite vistas of unchanged beauty. Life here still revolves around the sun and sea, the enjoyment of simple pleasures - and immediately recalls to mind those heady days of wine and roses when carefree summers rolled on endlessly.

Driving along the coast, past the green terraces of grapevines, the groves of lemon and olive trees which sweep down the slopes to the clear blue water below, you are presented with a panorama of breathtaking beauty. Houses and hotels are perched in spectacular locations to capture the magnificent views. The soft greens of hills and valleys, the azure sea and sky, and the warm, faded yellow-pink buildings all meld together in this palette of seductive colour. In small villages the air is heavy with the scent of roses and carnations. As you walk along the narrow, paved streets, the pink flowers of the oleanders hang over crumbling stone walls - and the effect is one of mellow beauty. Completely and utterly charming in its simplicity.