Amalfi

Amalfi needs 2 days: the Cathedral of Sant'Andrea, with its monumental staircase and Arab-Norman style facade, on one, and a boat excursion along the coast to nearby grottoes and coves on the other. May-September is best. It's expensive, though more accessible than Positano. It gives its name to the entire coast and was one of Italy's four medieval maritime republics -alongside Genoa, Pisa and Venice-, with a fleet that once rivaled the Mediterranean's great naval powers before a 1343 tsunami destroyed much of its original harbor, now submerged off the current coastline.