The beautiful Italian destination loved by Brits that is battling crowds and traffic jams

The Italian government is seeking to battle over-tourism in one of the most beautiful and visited coastlines in the world as it is gripped by overcrowding and traffic jams this summer. 

A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997, the coastline is one of most popular destinations of the world’s jet set - a fashionable social set of wealthy people who travel frequently by jetliner to parties and resorts - earning it the nickname of the “Divine Coast”. However, it appears that the rest of the world has caught on, as now roughly five million people flock to the destination each year. 

Italy’s Amalfi Coast which lies in southern Italy, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and Gulf of Salerno, has been an attraction to upper-class Europeans since the 18th-century, when it was a frequent stop over on their Grand Tours. 

Celebrated worldwide for its Mediterranean landscape, natural diversity and its production of limoncello, the Amalfi Coast is home to famous towns such as Positano, Atrani and Vietri sul Mare.

The latter two of which are counted among “I Borghi più belli d'Italia” ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). However, the region is now overrun by hundreds of thousands of tourists every summer.

One tourist told France24: “It’s beautiful but very very crowded. Just overcrowded. It’s hard to see anything in the amount of time that you get to visit these small places, so it’s hard to do anything. You feel like you’re herded like cattle.”

Another said that it felt like “the whole world is here”.

In an attempt to get a grip on the overcrowding and traffic jams that have gripped the region, the authorities have put in place a plan of alternate circulation during the region's busiest days to limit traffic on the only road that connects ten towns on the coastline. This road, the Amalfi Drive, is 25 miles long and was originally built by the Romans - not intended for the streams of traffic it now handles. 

On even days, only vehicles with an uneven number plate can come through. Anyone who does not follow the new rules can be fined £50. Those with reservations at one of the area’s hotels are exempt from the fines. 

While some tourists have been caught out as a result of not being informed by hire car companies, Amalfi’s mayor, Daniele Milano, has defended the initiative. 

“A delicate place like this requires specific measures… It’s clear that this is a sought-after tourist area. It’s suffering from a phenomenon that could profoundly change our community.”

A new bill with even stricter measures is being explored by the Italian Parliament, to put limitations on traffic for all the towns along the coast.