A walking tour of Liparlati could be a good occasion to discover one of the oldest districts of Positano, also known as “Ngopp è camere” (above the rooms) for the presence of many caves probably used as a refuge during the past.
The nick name of “dead city” was given by locals because after the Unification of Italy many people emigrated to the north of Italy and the USA in search of fortune and of a new life.
In Liparlati you can find the Church of San Giacomo (St James) which is one of the oldest in Positano. This church was buit during the 12th century by the family Parrata who were trading with the spanish so they decided to dedicate the Church to Santiago de Compostela (so St James).
During the 18th century in Liparlati some beautiful and luxury residence were built.
These villas are also known ad the “long houses” because of their architecture and during the Great Wars they were refuges for jews and artists. In 1926 Eduard Gillhausen, known as Don Eduardo, an exponent of the Bauhaus School, hid himself in one of the villas together with a woman who became his lover, Eva Maria Vivaldi. They spent their lives here in Positano, playing music and painting. They loved walking and hiking here in Positano as they loved meeting local people.
Among their guests at the villa it’s worth to remember Pablo Picasso, Carlo Carrà, Alberto Moravia and John Steinbeck.
A picture of Don Eduardo and the beautiful Eva Maria during a picnic above Positano:
One pathaway in Liparlati is dedicated to Stefan Andres, a writer who lived here from 1937 to 1948. He decided to move to Positano because his wife was a jew and after loosing their jobs they escaped in Italy. He had 3 children and the elder died for typhus, she was buried under a carob tree in the cemetery of Positano.
Local people always tell me “they want to be buried under a carob tree” and if you have the possibility to do a walking tour on the upper side of Positano you will notice many carob trees in the cemetery, which is also one of the most beautiful places of Positano for the breathtaking views you can admire from there.
Positano was chosen for many reasons: many other artists and writer did it before, for the quiet and the beauties of our village and above all because local people were helping them, hiding and giving them something to eat. Andres wrote a book which is considered a tribute to Positano: “Positano, Geschichte aus einer Stadt am Meer”, (Positano, stories of a city above the sea).
Liparlati, with all its stories about locals and artists, can’t be considered “dead”, but if you ask a local about the “dead city”, he will point out that small neighborhood perched on a hill in the upper side of Positano.