The Terrace of Infinity

Atop a rocky bluff 1000 feet above the Amalfi Coast sits the Villa Cimbrone, and at the far south end of “The Avenue of Immensity,” the path that runs from the cloister through the gardens and to the bluff’s edge, perches “The Terrace of Infinity.” The hyperbolic labels – “immensity,” “infinity” – turn out not to be hyperbolic after all as you walk through the gardens of century-old oak, alder, chestnut, and cypress trees; rhododendron and spiraea bushes; cacti, wild orchids, roses, peonies, oleanders, and other exotic plants; statues, pavilions, a well, a sun dial, and temples. And finally to “The Terrace of Infinity,” which Gore Vidal has described as “the most beautiful view in the world.”

He might have said “views,” as the terrace has a 240° span from the Cilento Mountains and the town of Minori to the west, the Gulf of Salerno out the south and the Mediterranean beyond, and Atrani and the mountains to the east. And all around the small white-washed houses clinging to the hills, the terraced gardens, lemon groves, grape vines, olive trees. There might be a more impressive place to gaze out over the Earth, but I’ve yet to see it.