POSITIVELY POSITANO HILLSIDE VILLAGE ON AMALFI COAST RENOWED FOR SUN, SERENITY AND ONE SUPERB HOTEL.

Byline: Story and photos by Larry Lipson Staff Writer

POSITANO, Italy - If you're a smart man, you don't argue with your wife about whether Positano is the most romantic place on this planet - you just take her there as often as possible.

And you also make sure you stay at her favorite Positano hotel, Le Sirenuse.

John Steinbeck enjoyed Le Sirenuse back in 1953 when the hotel, then only 2 years old, had been converted from the family home of the Marquis Paolo Sersale, then the mayor of town.

In a story about Positano for Harper's Bazaar magazine, Steinbeck described Le Sirenuse as ``an old family house converted into a first class hotel, spotless and cool with grape arbors over its outside dining rooms. ... Every room has its little balcony and looks out over the blue sea to the islands of the sirens from which those ladies sang so sweetly.''

Steinbeck portrayed Paolo Sersale as ``a strong, handsome man about 50 who dresses mostly like a beachcomber and works very hard at his job as mayor.''

The Sersale family continues to run the hotel today. It now has 60 rooms, most of them facing the sea, equipped with balconies - as was the case more than a half-century ago when Steinbeck was here.

The rooms have whitewashed walls, hand-made Vietri tile flooring, beautiful antique furniture and appropriate appointments. Frette linen adorns the king-size beds.

With the shutters open, the gentle sounds of the waves lapping the shore below waft up to the rooms, helping to lull Le Sirenuse guests into lazy torpor.

You sleep very well here.

And you eat well, too.

Included in the expensive room rate (from about $554 nightly for a double in high season) is the daily morning buffet breakfast on the hotel's large terrace adjoining the picturesque pool area.

Guests straggle in sometime in the morning and partake of as much as they want of the prosciutto, pancetta, scrambled eggs, buffalo mozzarella, provolone, breads, pastries, cold meats, fresh fruits, cereals, juices and flutes of the refreshing Italian sparkling wine prosecco, plus espressos, cappuccinos and other coffees.

In addition to all-day, high-caliber food service, the hotel's haute restaurant La Sponda enjoys a reputation as one of Italy's finest.

Dinners can start and continue with the best catches of Positano's fishermen.

Sea bream is a favorite of the kitchen. Paired with high-quality Manni olive oil, it provides a delicious carpaccio. Grilled in a lemon leaf, it's a main-course treat with a salad accompaniment.

Pastas such as scialatielli, paccheri and straccetti are joined with various shellfish or matched simply with sauteed vegetables and a local provolone cheese.

Fresh anchovies come to the table having been soaked in white wine and boosted with zucchini, mint and pine nuts.

One of the world's tastiest veal chops is presented with marinated onions and an herbal tomato salad.

The clientele of Le Sirenuse ranges from honeymooners to movie stars (``RoboCop'' Peter Weller among them) to well-heeled U.S. tourists, and is particularly favored by European and American writers and artists.

Positano, built into the almost vertically sloped hills, also offers an array of other hotels and bed-and-breakfast inns.

Everything here seems up and down - hardly ever horizontal. You traipse down a multitude of steps to the beach, past the church and its gold mosaic dome, past little stores devoted entirely to the locally grown lemon - bottles of lemongello liqueur and cosmetics and soaps infused with lemon oils.

There is no need for an automobile for getting around, just a good set of legs and feet. (Speaking of which, Positano's sandals became a female fashion fad in the 1950s.)

Positano inspires a sort of languid pleasure; you don't need to run around seeing and doing things every available minute.

Yes, it's perfect for day trips to Capri, to Ravello, even to Pompeii. But it's just as pleasurable to relax and read in the sun or shade, on the beach or around the pool. Most guests are quite content to take a dip, sip a refreshing cold drink, play cards or dominoes.

And nobody tries to hustle you in Positano. If you're interested in buying something, fine. If not, it doesn't matter.

My wife calls it magical. Steinbeck called it ``a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.''

Positano has everything you want: good restaurants like Donna Rosa, lively spots like Buca de Bacco on the beachfront and a multitude of boutiques and shops.

Also art galleries, many of them filled with depictions of beautiful Positano. Noticeably, there are always artists at work here drawing and painting every possible scenic view.

You don't need artistic expertise to realize that seemingly everywhere your gaze takes you in Positano represents a probable canvas.

And there's no better place to gaze than from a balcony or terrace at Le Sirenuse - a hotel run by aristocrats that makes every guest feel like one, too.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: Positano, on Italy's Amalfi Coast, is a 56-mile drive from Naples and a 483-mile drive from Rome. Be warned that the road along the Amalfi Coast is narrow and winding. At certain times of the year it can be very slow going.

RATES: In high season, now through October (and over the Christmas-New Year's holidays), a standard double costs about $554 per night, a deluxe sea-view double about $975. In the low season of November through Dec. 22 and Jan. 3 through March, the rates for those accommodations are $369 and $528. Rate includes buffet breakfast.

INFORMATION: Le Sirenuse is at Via C. Colombo 30. Information: (011-39) 089-875066; www.sirenuse.it. E-mail: info(at)sirenuse.it. Booking resource: www.spectacularvacations.com/sirenuse.html.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

(1 -- color) The dome of Positano's Santa Maria Assunta attracts the eyes of Le Sirenuse Hotel guests as they sit on their balconies - provided they're not already mesmerized by the brilliant blue of the Mediterranean Sea.

(2) One of Italy's most romantic seaside resorts, Positano features homes built into craggy hills and a beach accessible only by foot.

Larry Lipson/Staff Photographer

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IF YOU GO (see text)