A bay with no road, no beach bar and no motorboats, at the end of a mule path from Nerano. The FAI looks after the land, the marine reserve the water, and the reward for forty-five minutes on foot is the clearest swim on this coast, with Capri's Faraglioni framed in the mouth of the bay.
Ieranto is the wide bay just east of Punta Campanella, closed in by the bulk of Monte San Costanzo and the headland of Montalto, and it is one of the few places on this coast that looks as it did a century ago. Or rather, as it did before the quarry.
For much of the 20th century the bay was a limestone quarry. The steel company Italsider cut stone from its western cliff and loaded it onto ships from a jetty whose concrete remains are still there. Once the quarry closed, the land was given to the FAI, Italy's National Trust, which has let the olive groves, the maquis and the cliffs recover. The water is now zone B of the Punta Campanella marine reserve; private motorboats may not enter, and swimming is limited to set areas.
The walk in is short: a level path along the hillside from Nerano, then a steeper descent on steps through olives to the farmhouse, the Montalto watchtower and the small pebble beach. The bay was once called the Baia delle Sirene; this is the sirens' sea, and the myth fits.
Because it is the only way in. The bay is open to walkers every day, from dawn until an hour before sunset, and it is free. In summer the FAI runs guided snorkelling and kayaking with marine biologists, which is the best way to see what the reserve protects.
One path, signed "Via Ieranto" at its start beside the FAI point in Nerano's square. The walk is level for the first third, steep in the middle and stepped and shady at the end.
Approximate profile. Solid line: the way down; dashed: the return.
Nerano is the village on the hill above Marina del Cantone. The path starts from the little square beside the FAI information point and bookshop, where guided walks meet, as a lane between garden walls signed Via Ieranto.
The path runs almost flat across the slope with wide views over the Gulf of Salerno: Marina del Cantone below, the Li Galli islets and the Amalfi Coast fading east. Little shade here; it is the hottest part of the return in summer.
The path turns and drops steeply over rock and loose stone, then through terraced olive groves to the old farmhouse in the middle of the estate. The FAI staff serve lemonade and coffee here during guided visits, and the terrace looks straight out at Capri.
Steps lead on, now in shade, past the old Torre di Montalto, a coastal watchtower on its headland and the cut cliffs and concrete loading dock of the former Italsider quarry, a curious piece of industrial archaeology inside a nature reserve.
A small cove of pebbles, the swimming area marked with buoys, and water so clear the bottom seems a metre away at ten. Swim, snorkel, eat your picnic and keep an eye on the time: the path is closed an hour before sunset, and the climb back takes about 50 minutes.
From May to October the FAI and the marine reserve run "La Baia in fondo al sentiero", a programme of guided walks and sea trips started in 2011 to protect the bay and show it to visitors.
Marine biologists lead small groups over Posidonia seagrass, rock reef and sea fans, with bream, wrasse, octopus and the odd grouper. The best way to understand why the bay is protected.
Paddle along the bay's cliffs into the sea caves between the small beach and the big bay. Guided kayak tours also leave from Marina del Cantone by reservation.
The bay's cliffs are a peregrine falcon stronghold, studied by the FAI and the Southern Italian ornithological society, with guided birding walks during the spring and autumn migrations.
Prices and programmes change each year; check the FAI's Baia di Ieranto page before you go. As a guide, a guided walk has cost about €20 and walk-plus-snorkel or kayak packages about €40 to €45.
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Nerano is in Massa Lubrense at the end of the Sorrento peninsula. SITA buses run from Sorrento and Sant'Agata sui Due Golfi to Marina del Cantone via Nerano; get off at the square. By car, take the Castellammare exit of the A3 and follow signs for Sorrento, Massa Lubrense and Nerano. From Positano or Amalfi, the easiest way in summer is a boat to Marina del Cantone, then a 20-minute climb to Nerano.
Open daily from dawn until one hour before sunset. Stay on the marked paths, take all rubbish back up, and do not light fires, collect plants or disturb the seabed. The path is uneven and not suitable for people with limited mobility; take care with children on the steep middle section.
Ideas from our Amalfi Coast guide: Nerano and Marina del Cantone are one of the great eating villages of the south.
The two restaurants that each claim spaghetti alla Nerano, fried courgettes with provolone del Monaco and basil. Lunch at one after the walk; settle the argument at the other next time.
Campania's only three-star restaurant, in a villa above the cove: the peninsula's fish, vegetables and herbs, refined over forty years by the Mellino family.
The islet of Isca, off the beach, is the easy dive; the Vervece rock and its gorgonians the famous one. Both in the same marine reserve as the bay.
More on diving →
A Roman road to the temple of Athena at the tip of the peninsula, with Capri across the strait.
The cliff-top mule track from Agerola to Nocelle, with Positano and Capri ahead.
Capri's wild west coast from the Blue Grotto to the lighthouse, past Napoleonic-era forts.
Paper mills, waterfalls and a fern from before the Ice Age, in the one cool valley on the coast.
The old harvest track between Maiori and Minori, through terraces of sfusato lemons.
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A 1,122-metre top above Agerola with the gulfs of Naples and Salerno on either side.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons are used under their Creative Commons licences. Click a title for the original, its author and licence.
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