Alimuri, the boats' place

The tuff rock cliff of Sorrento's plain is connected to the limerock hills of Mts. Lattari in two places on the shoreline. One is Marina Grande, at Sorrento, the other one is the Marina di Alimuri, in what now is Meta.
Despite fantastic and misleading etimologies, mostly based on imaginary victories on Barbary pirates, it seems that its name comes from greek words, like many other toponyms in Magna Graecia, indicating a waterfall flowing, or the absence of a harbour. In any case, this names pointed out what ancient seafarers could value.

The width of the seaside, some hundreds meters long, and some fresh water springs, made it possible to haul ships for repairing and resupply, and later to establish shipyards. until the end of XIXth century Alimuri's shipyards were famous, and Meta's seamanship one of the richest and best in Italy. Nowadays, seamanship has decaded to the last, a hotel stands on the shipyards place, attesting the shift to a touristic economy, and a witless and fanciful project has buried the harbour and eroded the beach, threatening what once was a seamen's hamlet.
There only remain the wooden boats, hauled on "Meta" beach, just below the cliff from which the town took its name, and the caves carved into the tuff, hosting the "monazzeni" where boats are recovered, and where Michele Cafiero's boatyard is.