The myth narrates that Odysseus couldn’t pass the opportunity to hear the sweet melodies made by the sirens, but he followed Circe’s advice and plugged the sailors’ ears with wax. In his work “Geographica,” he calls the three islands Sirenai o Sirenussai names that allude to the fact that sirens lived there. According to the myths, there were only two occasions where people successfully escaped the danger: Odysseus and his ship after the Trojan war and the Argonauts Stabo, a Greek geographer and historian who lived between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, was the first to ever talk about the islands in correlation to mythology. In the ancient iconography, they were often portrayed as chicken-like figures, and that is where the Italian name Li Galli comes from. Mythological creatures resembling a combination of women and birds, Sirens were dangerous creatures that would lure sailors with their captivating voices. It was probably why, given the succession of these kinds of events, people believed that sirens lived on the islands. Indeed, for years, people would fall prey to some of the most vital sea currents capable of creating a vortex around the islands that would crash the ships, leaving no chance. These small islands have an ancient history: already inhabited during the Roman Empire Era, they were the cause of disasters for many militaries, commercial and even pirate ships.
Here surrounded by a clear and enchanted sea, in what is today a protected area, nothing is impossible as mythological and divine characters meet humans. We are talking about three main islands that, together, form the Sirenusas: the Gallo Lungo, La Castelluccia (also known as Isola dei Briganti), and La Rotonda. The Amalfi Coast is an ethereal land where the beauty and the seduction of the landscapes can bring anyone to Heaven and to Hell at the same time. And especially, there’s a place on the coast where mythology and dreams come together.