Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta
Rising from the busiest piazza in town, Santa Maria Assunta's majolica-tiled dome is the single most photographed silhouette on the Amalfi Coast. Step inside and the chaos of the beach road melts away into candlelight and centuries of devotion.
The Icon Above the Altar
The church's treasure is a 13th-century Byzantine icon of the Black Madonna and Child, said to have been stolen by pirates and miraculously recovered in Positano's harbour — the legend that gave the town its name. The painting glows behind the high altar, framed by gilded baroque flourishes that reward a slow, close look.
Don't rush past the side chapels, where votive offerings left by grateful fishermen — silver fish, tiny model boats, faded photographs — create an unexpectedly moving folk-art gallery alongside formal oil paintings.
The Dome and the Piazza
From the beach or the ferry dock, the green-and-yellow majolica dome dominates every postcard view of Positano. Climb the short flight of steps from Piazza dei Mulini just before the morning crowds arrive and you'll have the entrance terrace almost to yourself, with a clear sightline down to the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The piazza in front buzzes from mid-morning onward with gelato carts and lemon-print linen stalls, but the church interior stays cool and hushed — a genuine sanctuary in every sense.
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