When traveling around the Amalfi Coast, Campania's less touristy villages, such as Cetara, are worth a visit. Home to the area's best fishermen since the Middle Ages, Cetara has only started to see a slight tourism spike in recent years. In short, it's a gem for the curious.
Cetara plays host to just a few shops, taverns, and producers who carry on generations-old local traditions, the most famous being the production colatura di alici, a Slow Food Presidium anchovy-flavored sauce that earned DOP status in October 2020.
Al Convento
For local cuisine at its finest, head to Trattoria Al Convento, which is well known throughout Italy. La Cuopperia del Convento, a street-food outpost of the restaurant and pizzeria, sits in Cetara's main square.
Canned tuna and fish shop
Have a bite to eat at Cetarii. The tuna tastings juxtapose bluefin tuna, albacore tuna, alliterated tuna, belly, and mackerel, and the gourmet panini and crostini are made with canned fish. You can also pick up some canned fish and other products to take home as souvenirs or give as gifts.
La Colatura di Alici
Only a few people produce colatura di alici and only one of them is still active in the village. In addition to colatura di alici, the family-run Nettuno produces oil-packed salted anchovies and pesto alla cetarese.
The amber-colored liquid is obtained from the maturation of anchovies in salt according to an ancient procedure. The sauce is known all over the world thanks to the chefs who incorporate it into their dishes. Standard colatura di alici is light, young, and perfect for pasta. The longer aged version is much more intense and should be "used with caution" – so much so that's only sold in 50ml bottles which pack more than enough.
Pesto alla Cetarese
Like Liguria and Sicily, Cetara has a pesto sauce of its own. Nettuno's pesto alla cetarese contains basil, parsley, garlic, capers, almonds, pine nuts, walnuts, green and black olives, anchovy fillets, colatura di alici, and extra-virgin olive oil. Some add oregano, hot pepper, dried figs, and/or lemon peel. It's excellent on crostini or with pasta – if going for the latter, spaghettone di Gragnano is recommended, as it releases a lot of starch which adds consistency to the pesto.