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THE HISTORY
Praiano
and Vettica are ancient villages like all others on the Coast, and are
situated halfway between Positano and Amalfi.
The origins of these two villages are unfortunately unknown to us because
of the few documents found so far.
Praiano, Antica Plagianum, facing east gives you the opportunity to enjoy
the sun and moonrise, whilst Vettica Maggiore faces west and from there
you can admire wonderful sunsets behind the “Faraglioni” of
Capri
.
Praiano has always been a fishing village and until few years ago fishing
was the main profession. The old village was situated by the sea, but due
to the saracen’s invasion, pestilences, and other natural calamities,
they were obliged to move higher up in the mountains for safety reasons.
During the “Angioino” and Preroyal periods many fortresses were built
along the sea. Many of these are
still in good condition and can be seen along our marvellous coast.
They also built a lot of houses with Mediterranean style roofs, looking
like eagles nests lying among the rocks and terraced gardens with dry
built walls made of local stones.
The villagers also took up farming and grew products typical of the region
such as citrus fruits, potatoes, tomatoes, grapes, barley. The council
crest of Praiano includes oranges in it’s design , signifying the
importance of agriculture.
In the “Angioino” time, Praiano was bestowed the title of
Universitas, an honour only few villages received. With that title,
Praiano was able to become more independent. Still its financial
relationship with Amalfi lasted until the 17th century.
Silk and linen manufacturing along with the art of creating fishing nets
provided other means of making
a living. Men, apart from being good fishermen, used to fish and sell
local corals to the factories of
Torre del Greco
.
In
1924 a
very bad landslide destroyed the
Praia
beach area. It was disastrous for the village as it was the location where
most activities
took place and where most local goods were traded.
The
“Cala della Gavitella”, located at Vettica di Praiano,
another beach similar to the
Praia
, was also used as a trading place and for the storage of goods in the so
called “magazzeni”.
Spread around both villages 15 churches and chapels were built, with most
being for private use. The two main churches were built after the Lepanto
battle at the end of the 16th century: the
Church
of
Saint Luca
is located in “Praiano
Alto” and Saint Gennaro in Vettica Maggiore.
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