J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

Approximately halfway along the Amalfi coast between Salerno and Positano is a rugged section of headland known as the Capo d’Orso. This sketch depicts the stretch of coastline west of that point from a boat on the sea. The Capo d’Orso is on the right, whilst on the far left-hand side is the Torre di Badia, one of the many sixteenth-century watch-towers found dotted along the sea front in this part of southern Italy. The building visible on the heights above the tower is a fifteenth-century church, the Santuario di Maria Santissima Avvocata Sopra Maiori. For further studies between Salerno and Sorrento see folios 47 verso–66 verso (D15824–D15860).